^^^^^^"^^"^^^

Id

^^^/?fiicAL st^^;^

BV 310 .P67 1921

Poteat, Hubert McNeill, 1886

Practical hymnology

PRACTICAL HYMNOLOGY

BY
HUBERT McNeill POTEAT, M.A., PhD.

Professor of Latin, Wake Forest College

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching
and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."

ARTl€tV6RlTATI

BOSTON
RICHARD G. BADGER

THE GORHAM PRESS

Copyright, 1921, by Richard G. Badger

AU Rights Reserved

Made in the United States of America

The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A.

TO

MY MOTHER

WHO TAUGHT ME IN MY CHILDHOOD
TO LOVE GOOD MUSIC

PREFACE

IN non-ritualistic churches the participation of
the congregation in the service is limited to the
singing of the hymns. And yet, this exercise, instead
of being universally recognized as of vital impor-
tance, and treated accordingly, is permitted, in in-
numerable churches, to sink into a kind of dull
lethargy which invariably succeeds in communicating
itself, in greater or less degree, to the whole service.
The selections are made from a slender cycle that is
traversed again and again, week after week, month
after month, year after year, with never an attempt
to learn new hymns; the spirit of religious fervor
and enthusiasm is quenched by the lazy and indif-
ferent manner in which the songs are sung, and
nobody knows or cares enough about it to initiate
reforms; the pastor has never taken the trouble to
study the history of hymn singing or to investigate
the circumstances and incidents that cluster around
the composition and use of the great hymns ; and
the people never receive any instruction or inspira-
tion or assistance to supplement their own negligible
knowledge of, and interest in, hymnology. As a
result of this inexcusable ignorance, carelessness and

7

8 Preface

laziness, the singing of hymns, in all too many
churches, instead of being an act of worship, has
degenerated into a mere incident of the service, —
holding its place solely because of immemorial
custom.

A fruitful soil is thus prepared for the purveyor
of the cheap, ragtime "hymn." He glibly informs
the music committee (composed usually of business
men who would be insulted if one ascribed to them
any knowledge whatever of music) that his book
will wake the congregation out of the lassitude into
which it has sunk ; that the perfect panacea for the
lack of interest in the singing is bound up within
the cheap covers of his "Tinkling Cymbal" ; that the
proper way to stir the souls of the people is to begin;
with the feet, which, being galvanized into frantic
activity under the spell of sundry jigs, waltzes and
jazzes, will speedily communicate their exliilaration
upward. He succeeds almost invariably in selling
his wares, whereupon he goes his way rejoicing to
the next church with a "music committee." Now,
the cheap hymn book is not a cure for the disease;
its adoption simply means the substitution of one
malady for another.

The cure, then, must be sought elsewhere. It is
to be found in the application of a little earnest
consideration and study to the whole question of
hymnology. The ignorance and indifference of
pastor and people are, as suggested above, very

Preface 9

largely responsible for conditions as they exist today.
This book is prepared with the very practical pur-
pose of presenting what seem to me the most im-
portant phases of the subject, — one of which, as far
as I can learn, has not been treated at length be-
fore,— in as small a compass as possible, to readers
who have neither time nor inclination for exhaustive
investigation.

Pardon a personal word: I am neither a pro-
fessional musician nor a teacher of music. The
convictions set forth in this little volume have been
formed during a long term of service as director of
a volunteer choir. Further, I am not in the pay
of any publisher of hymn books, nor do I ever ex-
pect to be.

I shall be sorry if certain opinions expressed in
the following pages appear to any reader to be
harsh ; but I shall comfort myself with the reflection
that every word was written in an earnest endeavor
to check what I believe to be a real evil and to pro-
mote a deeper interest in the true worship of God.

H. M. P.

Wake Forest, N. C,
March 30, 1921.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I

PAGE

Historical Sketch 1^

CHAPTER n

The Cheap "Hymn" 56

CHAPTER in

Music in the Church and Sunday School 95

Appendix 1^"

Index ^^9

PRACTICAL HYMNOLOGY

CHAPTER I

IN the year 1505 the Bohemian Brethren laid the
foundation stone of modern congregational sing-
ing by the publication of a hymn book. These
followers of John Hus paved the way, therefore, for
Martin Luther ^ in Germany and for Calvin in
Switzerland. It must be noted, however, that, while
German Protestants, under Luther's leadership,
developed a real hymnody, English and Scottish
Protestants, following Calvin, adopted the metrical
psalm instead of the hymn. Indeed, in the British
Isles, hymn singing was practically outlawed until
the early part of the eighteenth century. Calvin's

* For the facts presented in this chapter I am chiefly in-
debted to Dr. Louis F. Benson, whose book, "The English
Hymn, Its Development and Use" (Geo. H. Doran Co., 1915),
is a treasure-house of inspiration as well as information.

^"The Congregational HjTnn is . . . distinctly the child of
the Reformation." — Benson, oii. cit., p. 20. Luther's Catholic
foes insisted that his hymns were responsible for more deser-
tions from the mother church than his sermons and tracts.

13

14 Practical Hyrrmology

contention was, of course, that nothing whatever
should be employed in the service except that which
had the express authority of Scripture. Man-made
hymns, therefore, must be excluded and only the
inspired Psalms of David used in worship. This
point of view held firm in certain denominational
circles until the beginning of the nineteenth century,
and proved the most serious obstacle which hymn
singing was called upon to face.

The first English hymn book, Myles Coverdale's
"Goostly Psalms and Spirituall Songes drawen out
of the holy Scripture", published in 1531, was a
dull and uninspired attempt to carry forward the
Lutheran ideas of hymn singing as against Calvin-
istic psalmody. In 1546 the King put this produc-
tion in the index expurgatorius, and psalm singing,
with the highest official approval, entered upon its
two hundred years' career. It must not be under-
stood that hymn singing was absolutely eschewed
during this period. On the contrary, sentiment in
its favor developed more or less steadily and grew
largely out of an ever-increasing dissatisfaction
with psalmody. As will be readily seen, the Psalms
of David could not possibly give expression to all
the thoughts and feelings arising in the minds and
hearts of the members of a New Testament church.
And so we have, first, a gradual alteration of
psalmody — in the hymn direction. Freer para-

' Historical Sketch 15

phrases were used, instead of the former literal
translations ; other parts of Scripture found their
way into the psalm book; then, verses in imitation,
or as exposition, of Scripture passages were in-
cluded; and, finally, we have genuine hymns sug-
gested by Scripture. This evolution proceeded, it
may be said, along three lines. There was, first,
an eff'ort to improve the literary character of the
Psalms. Second, worshipers felt the need of selec-
tions Tv^hich could express more completely their
Christian emotions. — In 1679, John Patrick, of
London, published "A Century of Select Psalms and
portions of the Psalms of David, especially those of
praise." Dr. Isaac Watts remarked, some forty
years later, that "he hath made use of the present
language of Christianity in several Psalms, and left
out many of the Judaisms". Patrick was, indeed.
Watts' predecessor in this method of adapting the
Psalms to current needs, — as Watts freely admit-
ted.— Third, other parts of the Bible began to be
paraphrased. As early as 1553 we find "The Actes
of the Apostles, translated into Englyshe metre, and
dedicated to the Kynges most excellent Maiestye,
by Christopher Tye, Doctor in Musyke . . . with
notes to eche chapter, to synge and also to play upon
the Lute".

William Barton published in 1659 '*A Century of
Select Hymns", in the preface of which he took an

16 Practical Hymnology

uncompromising stand for hymns. His work may be
said to occupy the transition point between the
psalm and the hymn, and his influence upon the
future progress of hymn singing in England was
wide and important.

From 1660 to 1707, the date of the publication of
Dr. Watts' "Hymns and Spiritual Songs'% we find
numerous writers of hymns, all of whom contributed
more or less largely to the development of that type
of the English hymn which reached its fruition
under Watts' inspiration and guidance.

Each division of Nonconformists, of course, met
and handled the question of hymns in its own way.
Considerations of space make it impossible to dis-
cuss the progress of hymn singing in these various
denominations. A bit of Baptist history may be
presented as fairly typical.

In the year 1606 one John Smyth led his congre-
gation of General, or Arminian, Baptists in a flight
to Amsterdam. Smyth believed that the New
Covenant was spiritual, proceeding out of the heart,
and that, therefore, reading out of a book was no
part of spiritual worship, but was the invention
of sinful man. "We hold", said he, "that seeing
singing a psalm is a part of spiritual worship, it is
unlawful to have the book before the eye in time of
singing a psalm." The inevitable result of this in-
teresting view was, of course, the custom of singing

Historical Sketch IT

individually and extemporaneously, as the Spirit
gave them utterance. We learn from a book pub-
lished in London in 1645 that this was, indeed, the
type of singing practised in Smyth's church.

In 1678 Thomas Grantham, the official spokesman
of the General Baptists in England, delivered him-
self of a pronouncement to the effect that the New
Testament recognized no "promiscuous singing",
and no singing by the rules of art, but only the "ut-
terance of psalms and hymns sung by such as God
hath fitted thereto by the help of his Spirit for the
edification of the listening Church". "If all sing",
he proceeded, "there are none to be edified". He in-
sisted, further, that the employment of pleasant
tunes would bring back music and instruments,
while, if other men's words were used, the way would
be open to the similar use of set forms of prayer.

In 1689 the General Baptist Assembly, learning
that a few congregations were engaging in the ne-
farious practice of "promiscuous singing", called
upon these erring brethren to show "what psalms
they made use of for the matter, and what rules
they did settle upon for the manner". The com-
mittee of investigation made the following report:
"Not the metres composed by Messrs. Stemhold
and Hopkins,^ but a book of metres composed by one

^ "The whole Booke of Psahnes, collected 5iito Englysh metre
by T. Starnhold, I. Hopkins and others"; 1562. This psalter
is usually referred to as the "Old Version."

18 Practical Hymnology

Mr. Barton,^ and the rules produced to sing these
songs as set down secundum art em; viz., as the
musicians do sing according to their gamut, — Sol,
fa, la, my, raj, etc., etc. ; which appeared so strange-
ly foreign to the evangelical worship that it was not
conceived anywise safe for the churches to admit
such carnal formalities ; but to rest satisfied in this,
till we can see something more perfect in this case,
that as prayer of one in the church is the prayer
of the whole, as a church, so the singing of one
in the church is the singing of the whole church;
and as he that prayeth in the church is to perform
the service as of the ability which God giveth,
even so, he that singeth praises in the church ought
to perform that service as of the ability received
of God; that as a mournful voice becomes the duty
of prayer, so a joyful voice, with gravity, be-
comes the duty of praising God with a song in the
Church of God". This remarkable judgment was ap-
proved by the Assembly, and the practice of "pro-
miscuous singing" among General Baptists was very
limited until the middle of the eighteenth century.
In 1733 there was a wail from Northamptonshire
that some of the churches "had fallen into the way
of singing the Psalms of David, or other men's com-
posures, with tunable notes and a mixed multitude;
which way of singing appears to us wholly unwar-

* See pp. 15-16.

Historical Sketch 19

rant able from the word of God". But by this time
the Assembly had so far changed its attitude as to
decline to reopen the question.

It will be interesting to note, in passing, two
contemporary Quaker expressions ^ upon the sub-
ject of "conjoint singing". George Fox wrote in
his "Journal" in 1655 the following: "Tho: Holme
& Eliz: Holme: att a meetinge in Underbarrow:
were much exercised by ye power of ye Lorde in
songes and Hymns & made melody & rejoyced: &
ye life was raised thereby & refreshed in many: in
ye meetinge". In 1675 the Yearly Meeting officially
declared that "serious sighing, sencible groaning and
reverent singing" were recognized as divers opera-
tions of the Spirit and power of God, and were not
to be discouraged, unless immoderate. All this, of
course, refers to extemporaneous solo performances.
"Conjoint singing" has been introduced into the
Quaker meeting only within the last fifty years,
and is still not practised universally.

Let us now consider briefly the Particular, or
Calvinistic, Baptists. Although their general point
of view was exactly opposite that of the Arminian
branch of the Church, yet some congregations were
unalterably opposed to general participation in
hymn singing. The father of Baptist hymnody was
Benjamin Keach, who printed two collections of

^Quoted by Benson, op. cit., p. 95.

so Practical HyTMiology

hymns; the first, in 1676; the second, hi 1691. A
bitter controversy was begun in 1690 by a certain
Isaac Marlow, a dissenter in Keach's own congrega-
tion. This controversy raged for several years and
enlisted the energies of many writers on both sides
of the question at issue. But after the dust of the
conflict had cleared away, Keach's foundation stones
were found to be unmoved. A beginning of Baptist
hj^mnody had been made.

Before we pass to the chief figure in the history
of h3^mnology, let us observe the general situation
in Nonconformist churches. Psalms were still used
exclusively in the majority of these bodies, — lined
out by the precentor and droned over by the con-
gregation. Dr. Watts remarked, in the preface to
his "Psalms of David Imitated" (1719), that each
note was dwelt upon so long as to put "the congrega-
tion quite out of breath in singing five or six
stanzas". The people knew little about music and
cared less. They carried no psalm book to church,
but depended upon the clearness of the precentor's
enunciation for their words. Watts sums up the
situation characteristically in the preface to his
"Hymns" of 1707: "While we sing the praises of
our God in his Church, w^e are employ'd in that part
of worship which of all others is the nearest a-kin
to Heaven ; and 'tis pity that this of all others should
be perform'd the worst upon Earth. . . . To see

Historical Sketch 21

the dull Indifference, the negligent and the thought-
less Air that sits upon the Faces of a whole Assem-
bly while the Psalm is on their Lips, might tempt
even a charitable Observer to suspect the Fervency
of inward Religion, and 'tis much to be fear'd that
the minds of most of the Worshippers are absent or
unconcern'd. ... Of all our Religious Solemnities
Psalmodie is the most unhappily manag'd. That
very Action which should elevate us to the most de-
lightful and divine Sensations doth not only flat our
Devotion, but too often awakens our Regret, and
touches all the Springs of Uneasiness within us".
We pass now to a brief consideration of the work
and influence of Isaac Watts ^ (1674-1748). An-
other quotation from the preface to his "Hymns"
(cited above) will be inserted here, because it sets
forth with such lucidity and energy the good doctor's
view of the malady he proposed to treat. Says he:
"I have been long convinc'd, that one great Occasion
of this Evil arises from the Matter and Words
to which we confine all our Songs. Some of 'em

^ Among his most familiar hymns are the following: "Come,
we that love the Lord"; "High in the Heavens, eternal God";
"How did my heart rejoice to hear"; "Great God, how infinite
Thou art"; "O God, our help in ages past"; "Begin, my tongue,
some heavenly theme"; "Joy to the world, the Lord is come";
"Alas ! and did my Saviour bleed" ; "When I survey the won-
drous Cross"; "Come, let us join our cheerful songs"; "Come,
Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove"; "Not all the blood of beasts";
"When I can read my title clear"; "Am I a soldier of the
Cross"; "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun"; "There is a land
of pure delight"; "God is the refuge of His saints."

22 Practical Hyirmology

are almost opposite to the Spirit of the Gospel:
Many of them foreign to the State of the New
Testament, and widely different from the present
Circumstances of Christians. Hence it comes to
pass that when spiritual Affections are excited with-
in us, and our Souls are raised a little above this
Earth in the beginning of a Psalm, we are check'd
on a sudden in our Ascent toward Heaven by some
Expressions that are more suited to the Days of
Carnal Ordinances^ and fit only to be sung in the
Worldly Sanctuary. When we are just entring into
an Evangelic Frame by some of the Glories of the
Gospel presented in the brightest Figures of Juda-
ism, yet the very next line perhaps which the Clerk
parcels out unto us, hath something in it so ex-
tremely Jewish and cloudy, that darkens our Sight
of God the Saviour: Thus by keeping too close to
David in the House of God, the Vail of Moses is
thrown over our Hearts. While we are kindling into
divine Love by the Meditations of the loving Kind-
ness of God and the Multitude of his tender Mercies,
within a few Verses some dreadful Curse against
Men is propos'd to our Lips. . . . Some Sentences
of the Psalmist that are expressive of the Temper
of our own Hearts and the Circumstances of our
Lives may Compose our Spirits to Seriousness, and
allure us to a sweet Retirement within our selves ;
but we meet with a following Line which so peculiar-

Historical Sketch 23

ly belongs but to one Action or Hour of the Life
of David or Asaph, that breaks off our Song in the
midst ; our Consciences are affrighted lest we should
speak a Falsehood unto God".

Dr. Watts contemplated, and actually submitted
to the Nonconformist public, what was in effect
a new system of church song. He insisted, first,
that the psalmody should be evangelical; second,
that it should be freely composed (that is, that
there should not be too strict adherence to the let-
ter of Scripture) ; third, that it should express the
thoughts and feelings of the singers, and not of
David or Asaph. His theory of worship embraced
both psalms and h^'mns, but his views on the proper
use of psalms were somewhat revolutionary. He
maintained that the Psalms, as such, were meant
to be read, and that they ought to be translated
literally. Those church members who declined to
give up psalm singing must use a prose translation,
and so must either master Hebrew music or learn
to chant. To the average Nonconformist, this, of
course, was practically equivalent to the casting
aside of the psalm.

Dr. Watts announced, further, that congrega-
tional si. ging should not represent God's word to us,
but our word to God. The adoption of this view
made it necessary to omit a number of time-honored
passages of the Psalms, and also compelled some
adaptation of the rest, to the end that David might

24 Practical Hyrrmology

speak as he would have spoken, had he been a Chris-
tian, an Englishman, and a contemporary of Dr.
Watts ! Thus, in his ''Short Essay toward the Im-
provement of Psalmody" (1707), Watts remarks:
"Judah and Israel may be called lEngland and Scot-
land, and the land of Canaan may be translated
into Great Britain".

In this same essay he set forth his arguments "^
for hymns — "Spiritual Songs of a^more evangelic
frame for the Use of Divine Worship under the
Gospel". They are as follows :

First. A Psalm properly translated for Christian
use is no longer inspired as to form and language:
only its materials are borrowed from God's Word.
It is just as lawful to use other Scriptural thoughts,
and compose them into a spiritual song.

Second. The very ends and designs of Psalmody
demand songs that shall respond to the fullness of
God's revelation of Himself. God's revelation in
Christ, and our own devotions responding to it,
require Gospel songs.

Third. The Scriptures themselves, especially
Eph : V, 19-20, and Col. iii, 16-17, command us to sing
and give thanks in the name of Christ. Why shall we
pray and preach in that name, and sing under terms
of the Law.?

Fourth. The Book of Psalms does not provide

' Cited by Benson, op. cit., pp. 112-113.

Historical Sketch 25

for all occasions of Christian praise, or express all
Christian experiences.

Fifth. The primitive "Gifts of the Spirit"
covered alike preaching, prayer and song. It is ad-
mitted by all that, under the present administra-
tion of Grace, ministers are by study and diligence
to acquire and cultivate gifts of preaching and
prayer. Why shall they not also seek to acquire
and cultivate the capacity of composing spiritual
songs, and exercise it along with the other parts of
worship, preaching and prayer.'^

Watts began writing hymns as early as 1700,
when he was only twenty-five years old. There is
a story, fairly well vouched for, to the effect that
the young man one day expressed to his father his
disgust at the hymns sung in their little meeting-
house. The elder Watts invited his son to write
some better ones, which Isaac proceeded to do with
great alacrity. The congregation liked them and
demanded more. The first collection was published
under the following impressive title: "Horae
Lyricae: Poems, chiefly of the lyric Kind. In two
books. I. Songs, etc. sacred to Devotion. II. Odes,
Elegys, etc. to Vertue Loyalty and Friendship. By
I. Watts. London, printed by S. and D. Bridge, for
John Lawrence, at the Sign of the Angel in the Poul-
trey. MDCCVI". This book was addressed to lovers
of poetry, and the few hymns included in it were ap-

26 Practical Hyumology

parently carefully selected for their distinct literary
quality. Watts insisted frequently that his hymns
were composed for the plain people and were writ-
ten in a stjde which made them easily apprehended
by the unpoetic mind. The hymns, therefore, with
a literary "taint" he published in his "Horae
Lyricae", as noted above, while his simpler songs
were issued in 1707 as "Hymns and Spiritual Songs.
In Three Books. I. Collected from the Scriptures.
II. Compos'd on Divine subjects. III. Prepared
for the Lord's Supper. With an Essay towards
the improvement of Christian Psalmody, by the use
of evangelical Hymns in worsliip, as well as the
Psalms of David. By I. Watts. London, printed
by J. Humfreys, for John Lawrence, at the Angel
in the Poultrey, 1707". Two years later a second
edition of this truly epoch-making publication ap-
peared, containing one hundred and forty-five ad-
ditional hymns. In 1719 Watts published his
"Psalms of David imitated in the language of the
New Testament, and Apply'd to the Christian state
and worship". This book gave concrete expression
to its author's views of psalm singing, mentioned
above (pp. 24-25). It contained versions of one hun-
dred and thirty-eight Psalms. His system of praise
was now complete, although a number of new hymns
appeared in subsequent years.

There is not space to discuss in detail Watts' in-

Historical Sketch 27

fluence upon the various denominations in England
and America. Suffice it to say that his work gave
a tremendous impetus to the movement for hymn
singing in every Nonconformist body. Numerous
so-called supplements were published. For example,
*'A collection of Hymns from various authors, de-
signed as a Supplement to Dr. Watts's Psalms and
Hymns", George Burder, 1784. This was only one
of a veritable deluge of such books, — a deluge which
flooded England, and, to some extent. New England,
until the inevitable reaction began, about the middle
of the nineteenth century.

Let us note at this point Watts' influence upon
Baptist worship. The General Baptists resisted the
onward march of congregational song until the lat-
ter half of the eighteenth century. Their first
hymnal was issued in 1772 ("Hymns and Spiritual
Songs, mostly collected from various authors ; with
a few that have not been published before"). Two
influences contributed to the development of a de-
mand for a hymn book in this branch of the Baptist
Church : first, the work of Dr. Watts ; and second,
the Methodist revival under the Wesleys, which
brought into the Baptist fold a great number of
new and very enthusiastic converts, in whose souls
the stirring evangelistic hymns of the revival still
reechoed. And so, following the "Hymns and Spirit-
ual Songs" of 1772, there appeared in 1785 another

^8 Practical Hymnology

collection by Samuel Deacon, a village clockmaker
— and pastor; and in 1791 the General Baptist As-
sociation authorized the publication oi yet another,
which entered the field in 1793. Deacon followed with
his "New and large collection of Hymns and Psalms"
(1800). This book was so popular that in 1830
it was revised by a committee of the Association
and adopted as the official General Baptist hymnal.
Among Particular, or Calvinistic, Baptists,
Watts' "Psalms" and "Hymns" attained a wide pop-
ularity and exerted a lasting influence. In fact, the
extensive use of his hymns was largely responsible for
what Benson calls "homiletical hymnody", that is,
the practice of selecting the last hymn in the service
for its bearing upon the sermon. This practice,
begun by the Particular Baptists in the middle of
the eighteenth century, has never been dropped in
Baptist churches, and is a distinguishing character-
istic which marks the progress of the denomination
in hymnology at every step of the way. The neces-
sity, felt so strongly by ministers, of obtaining
hymns appropriate to their discourses led, from
that time on, to the publication of many new col-
lections and original hymns. Perhaps the most
widely used book was Rippon's "A Selection of
Hymns from the best authors, intended to be an
Appendix to Dr. Watts's Psalms and Hymns"
(London, 1787). This volume, with Watts'

Historical Sketch 29

"Psalms" ^ and "Hymns" ^ might almost be re-
garded as the authorized hymnal of Particular
Baptists, since for nearly a hundred years it re-
mained the standard of Baptist hymnody."

In this country, during the early years of the
eighteenth century, congregational singing was a
dismal business, indeed, if we may accept as true
some remarks ^^ published in 1720 by a Mr. Symmes,
of Boston. He declared that conditions were "in-
decent," and that, from a lack of books and the in-
ability of the people to sing by note, a very few
tunes were sung from memory, "tortured and twisted
as every unskillful throat saw fit". Watts' "Psalms
Imitated" was first reprinted in America in 1729,
by Benjamin Franklin, in Philadelphia. Ten years
later the "Hymns" was reprinted in Boston. It is
important to note that the revival movement led
by the Wesleys and Whitefield was largely instru-
mental in weaning congregations away from the old
"Bay Psalm Book" and in inti-oducing Watts (who,
it may be said, did not attain wide popularity until
after the Revolution).

Among Baptists, where "promiscuous singing"

was practised at all, the "Bay Psalm Book" (1640)

had been used. Watts' influence was slower in mak-

« Cf. p. 26.
'Cf. p. 26.

" Benson, op. cit., p. 145, quotes Spurgeon, to the effect that
Rippon, w*ith Watts, was used in his Tabernacle until 1866.
"^Ihid., p. 161.

80 Practical Hymnology

ing itself felt generally in that denomination than
in any other. One reason for this was that Baptists
rather insisted, from the very first, upon a strictly
denominational hymnody, especially with a view to a
sufficient selection of songs appropriate to the
baptismal service. The first American Baptist
hymnal, "Hymns and Spiritual Songs, collected from
the works of several authors" (Newport, 1766),
opens with sixteen hymns on baptism.

Benson says (p. 199) : "The independent and
individualistic spirit combined with denominational
insistence, that has always characterized Baptists,
developed and has maintained a strikmg proclivity
toward the multiplication of hymn books." And
so we find h3nimal after hymnal published during the
years following the appearance of the Newport
book. The large number of these productions ob-
scures, in some measure, the actual development of
the Watts' influence.

Another reason for the tardy reception accorded
to Watts' books by Baptists was that large numbers
of them preferred songs of a somewhat lower literary
grade. This is sad, but true. And unfortunately
that lack of taste and appreciation has perpetuated
itself, — has grown and multiplied, — and furnishes
today a gaping, unappeasable maw, down which flow
successive editions of popular ragtime books, made
over and refurbished from time to time to titillate

Historical Sketch 31

anew palates soon satiated with their jingling me-
diocrity. Early Baptists delighted in highly emo-
tional songs with a rousing chorus, and so a number
of books appeared to meet this demand, while Watts
took second place. Dr. Benson (pp. 202-203) may
be quoted again at this point: "We may judge exist-
ing conditions by the character of some of the 170
songs appended to Parkinson's Selection.^^ ... In
the first Newton's unfortunate lines are altered to
serve as a refrain after each stanza : —

*Then be entreated now to stop
For unless you warning take,

Ere you are aware you'll drop
Into the burning lake.'

The third is 'A Dream' of Judgment Day. The
fifth is entitled 'Miss Hataway's Experience' and in-
cludes her conversation with 'an uncle from whom
she had large expectations'. The fifteenth begins,
'Ye scarlet-colour'd sinners, come.' "

And yet, a number of congregations in this coun-
tr}^, especially in the North and East, had used
Watts' "Psalms" and "Hymns" steadily for a num-
ber of years, and their example was wholesome.
There was, eventually, a sort of general effort to as-
semble the best of Baptist hymnody, together with
selections from Watts. In 1819 James M. Winchell,

"1809.

S2 Practical Hymnology

of Boston, published "An arrangement of the Psalms,
Hymns, and Spiritual Songs ... of Watts, to
which are added, indexes ... to facilitate the use
of the whole". With this was bound up "A Selection
of more than 300 Hymns, from the most approved
authors".

American Presbyterians for a long time sang
psalms exclusively. Most of them were Scotch-Irish
who had been raised on psalms and were blissfully
ignorant of the existence of Isaac Watts. The few
who did know of his work hated him cordially as a
presumptuous innovator. And so it is not surprising
to find that when the Church divided, in 1741, into
the "Old Side" and "New Side," the attempted in-
troduction of Watts' "Psalms Imitated" was one
of the causes of the split. In spite of official thun-
derings, this version of the Psalms steadily increased
in popularity, and, before many years had passed,
Watts' "Hymns", too, began to be used in Presby-
terian churches. Various Synods were called upon
to settle the question, but they preferred to leave
it to the local churches. There can be no doubt that
great impetus was given to hymn singing by the
doleful and woebegone manner in which psalms were
rendered in the majority of churches. John Adams,
after attending a meeting of the "Old Presbyterian
Society" in New York in 1774, remarked ^^ that

" Benson, op. cit., p. 184.

Historical Sketch 33

their psalmody was "in the old way, as we call it —
all the drawling, quavering, discord in the world".
But the Scotch-Irish, particularly in the South,
clung to their Rous' version of the Psalms (1650)
with such tenacity that the mere mention of Watts
was quite sufficient to charge the atmosphere with
electricity. Barlow's revised edition of Watts (1785)
received official approval two years later, but the
powers declined again to say whether they preferred
Watts' hymns or Rous' psalms. And so began the
great "Psalmody Controversy", which continued for
several years with a bitter ferocity difficult for us
in these days to understand. Ministers were driven
from their pulpits ; worship was interrupted by
hisses, catcalls and jeers; men went up and down the
land howling imprecations at their brethren of the
opposite party ; churches split into factions, battling
with all the holy zeal of crusaders, and nnally estab-
lishing two churches where one had existed before.
Although this most unfortunate and disastrous con-
troversy raged parochially for four or five years in
different parts of the country, it was theoretically
settled in 1788 by the adoption of the new "Directory
for the worship of God, of the Presbyterian Church
in the United States of America". Now, this Di-
rectory referred to "the duty of Christians to praise
God publiquely by singing psalms or hymns", and
advised, further, that churches should give up the

34 Practical HyTrmology

old custom of "lining out" and devote more time and
study to music in the sanctuary. That advice, acted
upon generally with considerable enthusiasm, meant,
of course, the ultimate triumph of the hymn, that is
to say, of Watts. And so "instructors of psalmody"
appeared everywhere, classes were organized, and
new h3rmnals published. But "Barlow's Watts" re-
mained for many years the praise book of the large
majority of Presbyterian churches.

We may now attempt to summarize Watts' in-
fluence. A great many writers have called him the
inventor of the vernacular hymn. This is hardly
a correct judgment. Watts, rather, established
a definite and permanent type of hymn, founded,
not on poetic flights or niceties of style, but on the
rock-bottom of the emotions and aspirations of the
great body of Christians. Dr. Benson's estimate ^^
is so clear and forceful that it may be quoted at
some length: "... he could bring to bear upon
his hymn writing a discernment, and a combination
of resources, spiritual, intellectual, poetic, utili-
tarian, possessed by none of his predecessors or all
of them if put together. He was not alone in per-
ceiving that an acceptable evangelical Church Song
was a spiritual need of his time, but he had the ability
to foresee, as other men could not, the possibilities
and limitations of the Congreg'ational Hymn in

"O^). cit., pp. 206-207.

Historical Sketch 35

filling that need. With great assiduity he dedicated
his ample gifts to the embodiment of what he saw.
He produced a whole cycle of religious song which
his own ardent faith made devotional, which his
manly and lucid mind made simple and strong, which
his poetic feeling and craftmanship made rythmical
and often lyrical, and which his sympathy with the
people made hymnic. Probably the whole body of
his work appealed alike to the people of his
time, whose spiritual needs he so clearly apprehended.
The larger part of his work proved to be an abid-
ing enrichment of Church Song, and to many its
only adequate expression. His best hymns remain
permanently, after the winnowing of two centuries,
among the classics of devotion".

Watts founded, unconsciously, of course, a school
of hymn writers, not all of whom reflected credit on
their founder. But in the closing years of the eight-
eenth century there was a really significant group
of Baptist h^^mn writers of the "School of Watts".
Miss Anne Steele ^^ was one of this school; others
were Benjamin Beddome,^^ Samuel Stennett,^"^ and
John Fawcett.^^

« Author of "Father of Mercies, in Thy Word"; "He lives,
the great Redeemer lives"; "Dear Refuge of my weary soul";
"Father, whate'er of earthly bliss."

" Author of "God, in the gospel of His Son."

"Author of "Come, every pious heart"; "Majestic sweetness
sits enthroned."

"Author of "Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing"; "How
precious is the Book divine"; "Blest be the tie that binds."

36 Practical Hymnology

After all, Dr. Watts' greatest achievement was the
impetus he gave to actual hymn singing. His hymns
were not hung up on the wall as models of devo-
tional poetry; they were swng, and sung almost
universally. And his success differed from that of the
Wesleys, whom we shall study next, in that while
they depended largely upon the enthusiasm of a
great revival to stimulate interest in their hymns
and the singing of them. Watts went to work soberlj^
and seriously, and succeeded magnificently, solely
on the merit of his hymns. 'His "movement" was
not revivalistic, but purely liturgical, — "a . . . de-
liberate undertaking for the 'Renovation of Psalm-
ody' in the ordinary worship of the Church". -^^

We pass now to the great revival under the Wes-
leys, which occupied the period from 1721 to 1738.
It may be repeated that the keynote of Wesleyan
hymnody was fervor and enthusiasm, as distinguished
from the more sober devoutness of Dr. Watts'
work.^^ The history of the missionary activities of
John and Charles Wesley in the Colonies is well
known. It is of interest to note that John Wesley's
first hymn book, "Collection of Psalms and Hymns",
was published at Charleston, S. C, in 1737. The
following year, on his return to England, he issued

^^ Benson, of. ait., p. 218.

*"' [Charles] Wesley as a poet is less of a pedagogue and
more of a true singer." — Waldo S. Pratt, "Musical Ministries
in the Church" (G. Schirmer, New York, 1915), p. 173.

Historical Sketch 37

a second volume. Both of these books were sent
forth anonymously. A third, appearing in 1739,
and bearing the names of both brothers, was one
of the first results of the profound evangelical
awakening which these remarkable men experienced
shortly after their arrival in England from the
Colonies. The hymns in this volume proclaimed in
clarion tones the deep religious enthusiasm of the
authors, and set permanently the style for Methodist
hymnody.

Let us consider now their part in the develop-
ment of the English hymn. In the first place, they
were responsible for a great enrichment of the stores
of hymns. Their poetical publications covered a
period of fifty-three years and numbered fifty-six,
of which thirty or more were exclusively original.
The whole body of Wesleyan hymns ^^ was published
in 1872 and filled thirteen volumes (6000 pages).

Secondly, the work of the Wesleys tended to

^The hymns composed by Charles Wesley have enjoyed a
far wider popularity than those of his brother, whose contribu-
tions to hymnody were translations from the German. The
following may be mentioned: "Ye servants of God, your
Master proclaim"; "Come, Thou Almighty King"; "Hark!
the herald Angels sing"; "Christ the Lord is risen to-
day"; "Lo! He comes, with clouds descending"; "I know
that my Redeemer lives"; "Blow ye the trumpet, blow";
"Sinners turn, why Will ye die"; "Jesus, lover of my soul";
"Depth of mercy, can there be"; "A charge to keep I have";
"O for a heart to praise my God"; "Love divine, all loves ex-
celling"; "O for a thousand tongues to sing"; "Our Lord is
r'isen from the dead."

38 Practical Hymnology

change the ideal of the hymn, both on its spiritual
and literary side, and to establish new types of
hjanns. There was a different atmosphere, a height-
ening of emotion, a novelty of theme, a new manner
of expression. The evangelistic note was strongly
stressed, the predominating theme became that of
Christian experience, and, finally, there was set a
new and higher literary standard. Watts had in-
sisted that the hymn must be kept outside the realm
of poetry. The Wesleys, on the other hand, held
that a hj^mn should be a religious lyric; that the
people must be lifted to its level and made to feel
its beauty. A passage ^^ from John Wesley's "Col-
lection" of 1780 may be quoted at this point: "May
I be permitted to add a few words with regard to
the poetry? ... In these Hymns there is no dog-
gerel, no botches, nothing put in to patch up the
rhyme, no feeble expletives. Here is nothing turgid
or bombast on the one hand, or low and creeping on
the other. . . . Here are (allow me to say) both the
purity, the strength and the elegance of the Eng-
lish language: and at the same time the utmost
simplicity and plainness, suited to every capacity.
Lastly, I desire men of taste to judge (these are the
only competent judges;) whether there is not in
some of the following verses, the true Spirit of
Poetry: such as cannot be acquired by art and

=" Benson, op. cit., p. 253.

Historical Sketch 39

labour ; but must be the gift of nature. By labour
a man may become a tolerable imitator of spenser,
SHAKESPEARE, or MILTON, and may heap together
pretty compound epithets, as pale-eyed, weak-
eyed, and the like. But unless he is bom a Poet, he
will never attain the genuine spirit of poetry."
"In the judgment of a recent historian of Eng-
lish Poetry [W. J. Courthope], Wesley *was
fully justified' in making this boast, and his
brother Charles was 'the most admirable devotional
lyric poet in the English language.' " ^^

It must be said, finally, that Wesleyan hymnody
made nothing like so wide an extra-denominational
appeal as did the productions of Dr. Watts. In the
first place, it was far above the spiritual level of the
average man; secondly, its theology was denomina-
tional and at times aggressively controversial ; third-
ly, while Watts was universally respected, by Church-
men and Dissenters alike, the Wesleys were regarded
outside their own circle as religious cranks : they be-
longed to "the people called Methodists." As a re-
sult of these things, Wesleyan hymns found their
way slowly and with difficulty into general popular-
ity and esteem.

In America a great revival flamed out in 1800,
one feature of which was the camp meeting. Al-

^ Benson, oj). cit., p. 253.

40 Practical Hymnology

though this re-v^val began under Presbyterian aus-
pices, Methodists were not long in gaining practical
control of it, parth^ because the Presbyterian clergy
of the State (Kentucky) held aloof. But a his-
torian ^* of 1847 insists that the Methodist pre-
dominance was gained largel}^ through hymns and
enthusiastic singing. Before the meeting had well
started, the fervor of the people grew so intense that
spontaneous song began to be a feature of the serv-
ices. A brother or sister, under stress of deep spir-
itual emotion, would arise and sing extemporane-
ously, composing words out of Scripture or every-
day speech, and interlarding the perfoiTnance with
frequent Selahs ! and Hallelu j ahs ! And so in this
meeting a new type of hymn was developed, under
Methodist auspices, — the Camp Meeting Hymn. It
deals with the rescue of the sinner from hell fire, it
exhorts the backslider, it paints luridly the flames
of Tophet, it dazzles crudely with attempts to de-
scribe the glory of heaven. Numbers of hymns of
this character have come down to us, and some are
still used in our churches. There is no doubt that
many of them are to be found among the negro
"spirituals," — more or less altered, of course, — but
still preserving the distinguishing traits of their
nativity. ^^

^^ Robert Davidson, quoted by Benson, op. c'lt., p. 292.
^ For the words of one of these songs, see p. 68.

Historical Sketch 41

As the camp meeting gave way to the more for-
mal and decorous protracted meeting and summer
assembly, these crude hymns were displaced by the
"Gospel Hymn," associated intimately with the
names of Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey.^^
"For under any circumstances the love of 'popular'
song abides. The same streak in human nature
that delights in the strains of the music hall de-
mands the 'spiritual song' of the same type. And
possibly an element that conscientiously flees the as-
sociations of the music hall is the most insistent upon
a compensatory light music in the Sunday school
and the church." ^^

We pass now to consider the Evangelical Revival
under George Whitefield. In 1741 Whitefield and the
Wesleys had a sharp doctrinal disagreement, and
parted company. The former sprang into promi-
nence at once as a leader on the Calvinistic side ; but,
while he was a man of wonderful personality, he
lacked the Wesleys' ability for organization and
sought merely to preach the Gospel. The evangelical
revival, nevertheless, caught some of the glow of re-
ligious enthusiasm from the Methodist movement,
developed its own schocTl of writers, and set a definite
type of evangelical hymnody. Whitefield's hymn

2«Sankey's "Mv Life and the Story of the Gospel Hymns"
(Sunday Schoof Times Co., Philadelphia, 1906) is of great
interest; cf. also below, pp. 48-49.

" Benson, op. cit., p. 398.

42 Practical Hi/rrmology

book was published in 1753. It contained twenty
Weslejan hymns, but more from Dr. Watts. White-
field's ideal combined Watts' sober dignity and the
fervor and enthusiasm of the Wesleys. This hymnal
was reprinted thirty-six times between 1753 and 1796
and exercised a wide contemporary influence in Eng-
land. It is important to note that the early evan-
gelical clergy of the Church of England were strong-
ly drawn to this book, which thus became one of the
foundation stones of the earlier group of Episcopal
hymnals. The most important of this group was the
"Olney Hymns", published in 1779 by John Newton,
curate of Olney, and containing two hundred and
eighty of his own hymns, with sixty-eight by his
friend William Cowper. The appeal of this book was
instantaneous and wide, and some of its hymns are
still cherished by Christians everywhere. ^^

Among American Baptists the adoption of the
Whitefield hymnody was delayed, principally because
of the popularity of Dr. Watts, and also by reason
of the addiction of many churches to psalm singing.
But the evangelical hymns were actually introduced

^ For example, Newton's "How sweet the name of Jesus
sounds"; Glorious things of Thee are spoken"; "Safely through
another week"; "Approach, my soul, the mercy-seat"; "Come,
my soul, thy suit prepare"; "Quiet, Lord, my froward heart";
"While with ceaseless course the sun"; and Cowper's "O for
a closer walk with God"; "God moves In a mysterious way";
"There is a fountain filled with blood"; "Sometimes a light
surprises"; "Jesus, where'er Thy people meet"; "Hark, my
soul, it is the Lord"; "The Spiriit breathes upon the Word."

Historical Sketch 43

quite generally into Baptist churches before Presby-
terians and Congregationalists had come from under
Watts' spell, and while the Episcopalians were still
chanting psalms and the Dutch Reformed bodies sing-
ing "Dienet dem Herrn mit Freuden ; kommt vor Sein
Angesicht mit Frohlocken." A large number of
hymnals made their appearance, once the evangelical
hymnody was definitely accepted by Baptists. Rip-
pon's "Selection," to which reference has already
been made (pp. 28-29), was reprinted in this country
in 1792. In the West and South, "The Baptist
Hymn Book" (W. C. Buck, Louisville, 1842) was
widely used. In 1843 "The Psalmist" appeared from
a Boston publishing house. One of its compilers was
S. F. Smith, author of "America." This book, con-
taining eleven hundred and eighty hymns, marked a
decided advance in Baptist hymnody. It gave Bap-
tists the precedence over other denominations in
definitely abandoning the period of compromise be-
tween psalms and hymns, and, furthermore, it rather
scorned the Baptist predilection for trashy songs.
In the South it was not a success, because of the
omission of a number of popular hymns. In 1850
Dr. Richard Fuller and Dr. J. B. Jeter published
these hymns as a supplement to "The Psalmist." But
in 1851 the Southern Publication Society issued "The
Baptist Psalmody", and this collection, with Sidney
Dyer's "Southwestern Psalmist" (Louisville), prac-

44 Practical Hymnology

tically closed the field in the South to the Boston
publication.

In 1832 a hymn book of a new type appeared,
whose editors were Thomas Hastings, a Presbyterian,
and Lowell Mason, a Congregationalist. These men
attempted to work a reformation in church music
by articles and lectures, singing schools, and the
training of choirs in the leadership of congregational
singing. Their book, "Spiritual Songs for Social
Worship", sought to provide words and music
adapted to the ability of the average man in the
pew, with especial emphasis upon devoutness and
spirituality. The book was deservedly popular, and
its beneficent influence is still widely felt, for among
the original hymns it contained were Hastings' "Hail
to the brightness of Zion's glad morning", S. F.
Smith's "The morning light is breaking", and Ray
Palmer's "My faith looks up to Thee". Mason's
tunes (some of them arrangements from musical
classics) are universally beloved — and used. The
following brief list, in which the names of the respec-
tive tunes appear in the parentheses, will show how
deeply all denominations are indebted to Lowell
Mason for his reverent, devotional, churchly music r^
"0 day of rest and gladness" (Mendebas) ; "Safely
through another week" ( Sabbath) ; "Hark, what

^ For interesting accounts of tunes as well as poems, consult
"The Story of the Hymns and Tunes," Brown and Butterworth
(American Tract Society, New York, 1906).

Historical Sketch 45

mean these holy voices" (Harwell); "Joy to the
world" (Antioch) ; "When I surv^ey the wondrous
Cross" (Hamburg) ; "Come, let us join our cheer-
ful songs" (Azmon) ; "There is a fountain" (Cow-
per) ; "My faith looks up to Thee" (Olivet) ; "Near-
er, my God, to Thee" (Bethany) ; "O could I speak
the matchless worth" (Ariel) ; "Father, whate'er of
earthly bliss" (Naomi) ; "Blest be the tie that binds"
(Dennis) ; "My soul, be on thy guard" (Laban) ;
"If through unruffled seas" (Selvin) ; "Go, labor on"
(Ernan) ; "Work, for the night is coming" (Work
Song) ; "From Greenland's icy mountains" (Mis-
sionary Hymn) ; "God is the refuge of His saints"
(Ward).

We have now to consider the Romantic Movement
of the early nineteenth century in its relation to
hymnology. Among the poets of this remarkable
period who wrote hymns and religious poetry were
Thomas Moore,^^ Byron, Wordsworth, Coleridge,
Scott, and Shelley. Of course these men wrote sacred
song only incidentally, and j^et their example was
not without its immediate effect upon the lesser poets
of the day. There was a general effort made to put
poetic feeling and literary art more completely at the
service of hymn writing. The real leader of this
new movement was Bishop Reginald Heber. The

'° Author of "Come, ye disconsolate," one of the most beauti-
ful devotional poems ever written.

46 Practical Hymnology

claim has, indeed, been made that every hymn he
wrote is today in common use. His book, "Hymns
written and adapted to the weekly church service of
the year", was published posthumously in 1827 ; and,
representing, as it does, the culmination of the liter-
ary movement, it offered a new standard of hym-
nody, — pure devotion accommodated to the church
year and expressed with poetic dignity. ^^

One of the most important results of Heber's work
was the turning of the tide of hymn singing in the
Church of England. ^^ Here, at last, were beautiful
hymns, composed by a good Tory churchman, —
hymns that recognized the holy days of the church
year, and that removed from hymnody the undig-
nified "taint" of Methodism and Evangelicalism.

Throughout this period of literary renaissance
Baptists clung to their homiletical hymnody,^^ al-
though John Curtis published in 1827 a rather un-
wieldy Baptist In^mnal, containing songs by Cole-
ridge, Scott, Byron, Moore, and Bishop Heber. The
modern period of Baptist hymnody may be said to
have begun in 1858, when the Particular Baptists

^^ Among Heber's greatest h^Tuns the following may be men-
tioned: "Holy, Holy, Holy"; '"The Son of God goes forth to
war"; "Brightest and best of the sons of the morning";
"Bread of the world, in mercy broken"; "From Greenland's
icy mountains"; "When thro' the torn sail the wild tempest is
streaming"; "Hosanna to the living Lord"; "God that madest
earth and heaven."

3^ Cf. also p. 50.

^' See p. 28.

Historical Sketch 47

published "Psalms and Hymns prepared for the use
of the Baptist Denomination." This book, with a
"Supplement", issued some twenty years later, frank-
1}^ aimed at a high literary standard, and contained
hj^mns by a number of the best writers of the time.
In 1866 Mr. Spurgeon issued "Our own hymns", a
book which was quite widely used.

Henry Ward Beecher led the way, in this country,
to real congregational singing. His "Pl^nnouth Col-
lection of H^mns and Tunes" (1855) did more to
take hymn singing out of the hands of the choir and
put it where it belongs than any other book ever
published. Many Baptist and Presbyterian churches
adopted it, though it was issued, of course, under
Congregationalist auspices.

Mention must be made here, sadly, of another
pioneer of this period. Dr. Charles S. Robinson, who
possesses the unenviable distinction of being patron
saint to the commercial "hymn" writers of the pres-
ent day. Dr. Robinson made a business of hymn
book compilation, and during the years 1862-1892
he published as many as fifteen books. "Dr. Robin-
son found his opportunity in the remissness of the
church authorities in meeting the needs of the time.
Incidentally his labors proved very profitable to him
and his publishers and unhappily proved a great
stimulus to the commercial side of hymn book mak-
ing. And a commercialized Hymnody is not a pleas-

48 Practical H^rrmology

ant object of contemplation to any one who cares for
the sanctities or the best interests of public wor-
ship".3*

We come now to the "Gospel Hymn", which may
be regarded as an offset to the Literary Hymn. The
former is the lineal descendant of the old Camp
Meeting Hymn and grew at least partly out of the
evangelistic work of the Y. M. C. A., organized in
Boston in 1851. Tourjee, Phillips, Moody, Doane,
Bliss, Sankey, and others, brought the Gospel Hymn
into wide popularity during the succeeding years.
But Moody's evangelistic campaigns did more, per-
haps, to create the tremendous demand for these
hymns than any other agency. This demand grew
so great that "Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs",
published by Bliss and Sankey in 1875, was followed
the next year by "Gospel Hymns, No. 2" ; and two
•years later, by "Gospel Hymns, No. 3". The series
ended with "Gospel Hymns, No. 6", issued in 1891.
In the opinion of the writer, "Gospel Hymns 1 to 6"
is a book of varied merit. There are in it long
stretches of the dreariest sort of uninspired dull-
ness, illuminated here and there by a genuine hymn.
This statement applies especially to the first part
of the book; for the last two or three hundred
hymns are, with a few exceptions, deeply and justly
loved by many thousands of Christians everywhere.

^* Benson, op. cit., p. 480.

Historical Sketch 49

"It was the lack of any educational idea or de-
velopment in the 'Gospel Hymns' school of Hymnody
that has caused its rapid deterioration. Countless
imitators of Gospel Hymns were raised up, without
the inspiration and sometimes without the unmixed
motives of the leaders. Every new evangelist fol-
lowing Moody's methods must have his Sankey and
his own hymn book. Moreover, the immense pe-
cuniary success of the Gospel Hymns series (in which
Moody and Sankey took no share for personal use)
offered great temptations to publishers and writers,
and the making of such books soon became a trade.
They deteriorated partly because the standard of
popular music and verse descended to the rag-time
level, and partly because it is simpler to deal with
the great public on its own plane, or a little below
it, than to attempt to uplift it".^^

We must turn back at this point to consider an-
other great movement which had its beginning in the
year which witnessed the culmination of the Literary
Movement, and which we may call the Classical, or
Oxford, Revival. This revival arose within the
Church of England, and John Keble was its founder.
His book, "The Christian Year", published in 1827,
was rather a collection of meditative verse than a
hymnal, and its wide influence was gained by the
poetic emphasis placed upon the feasts and fasts of

^ Benson, op. cit., p. 490.

50 Practical Hyirrmology

the church year.^^ There followed a closer study
of the Prayer Book and the Catholic Breviary, and
ere long translations of the Latin hymns contained
in the latter began to appear and to attract deep
interest. The ultimate result was the Liturgical
Hymn. The Church of England had, up to that
time, regarded the hymn with disfavor and scorn,
because it was a mark of Dissent. But now, the
hymn was discovered to be Catholic in origin; and
hymn singing in the Church of England, stimulated
by this discovery, and by the widely recognized worth
of Heber's book, also published in 18^7,^^ thence-
forward rested upon an entirely different basis. The
new movement, moreover, revealed to the Church the
great stores of hitherto unknown Latin and Greek
hymns, which were attacked and translated with
vigor and enthusiasm. Finally, it affected the mo-
tive and content of the English Hymn, for it firmly
established the Liturgical Hymn as a distinct type.
The Liturgical Hymn is the voice of the worshiping
church, while the Evangelical Hymn expresses the
aspirations of the individual; the Liturgical Hymn
relates Christian experience to the hour of wor-
ship, the church season, the sacrament.

There was, of course, an immediate need of new

^^ Three of Keble's best loved hymns may be mentioned :
"New every morning is the love"; "The voice that breathed
o'er Eden"; "Sun of my soul. Thou Saviour dear."

^^ See p. 46.

Historical Sketch 51

hymnals. Space will permit the mention of only two
of the men who helped to supply them. After de-
voting years to a patient study of post-classical
Latin, John Mason Neale wrote numerous articles on
ecclesiastical Latin poetry and made those remark-
able translations of Latin and Greek hymns, so many
of which are among our most cherished songs to-
day.^^ Following the publication of Dr. Neale's
translations (1851), a number of books were issued,
some along the lines laid down by Neale, others rep-
resenting the Evangelical wing of the Church. In
1859 the Reverend Francis H. Murray secured an
agreement with the owners of the more widely used
of these hymnals to the effect that they would with-
draw their respective books and unite in the prepara-
tion of a common collection. This appeared in 1861,
under the title, "Hymns ancient and modem for
use in the services of the Church'\ The success of
this hymnal is to be compared only with that of
Watts' publications and the work of the brothers
Wesley. It established the type and tone of Episco-
palian hymnody in England, and influenced in no
small way the hymnody of Nonconformist bodies.

^ The following may be mentioned : "The day is past and
over"; "Fierce was the wild billow"; "All glory, laud, and
honor"; "The day of resurrection"; "Come, ye faithful, raise
the strain"; "Christian, dost thou see them"; "Jerusalem the
golden"; "Christ is made the sure foundation"; "Safe home,
safe home in port"; "O happy band of pilgrims"; "Alleluia,
song of gladness"; "O come, O come, Emmanuel"; "For thee,
O dear, dear country."

52 Practical Hymnology

In America, translations of two Latin hymns
were published in 1840, and during the subsequent
years numerous others appeared and were speedily
given place in hymnals of all denominations. Upon
Baptists the Oxford influence made only a feeble
impression, and the Baptist hymn books of the lat-
ter years of the nineteenth century were evangelical
and homiletical, rather than liturgical.

In conclusion, we must note some of the charac-
teristics of twentieth century hymnody.

Firstly, although revival influences have pro-
foundly affected hymnody since the beginning, and
never more so than during the past ten or fifteen
years, very few of the current evangelistic songs
have found their way into real hymnals, for two rea-
sons: first, they are of such very poor quality; sec-
ond, the most popular ones are protected by strict
copyrights. Some, indeed, are so precious to their
perpetrators that they are guarded by international
copyrights !

In the next place, the more exacting literary stand-
ards set by the Literary Movement have driven out
of circulation many hymns of inferior workmanship.
There can be no doubt that in recent years the lit-
erary level of hymn books has been notably raised.
I refer, of course, to genuine hymn books ; not to the
collections of dance music and doggerel which dese-
crate so many of our churches and Sunday schools

Historical Sketch 53

today — collections whose standards can be improved
onh^ by consuming fire. — And in the raising of the
literary standard, be it remembered, the devotional
level has itself been elevated.

Again, with the passing of the years, the contro-
versial and polemic hymns of the various denomina-
tions have, to a very great extent, dropped out of
currency, and the general body of hymns sung by all
denominations alike has steadily increased.

It must be noted, further, that new ideas of re-
ligion and the multiplication of sects and creeds
have had their effect upon hymnody. There is a
growing use of vernacular hymns in Catholic
churches, and hymn singing, with a real hymn book,
has been widely introduced into the Quaker meeting.
And here is John Hunter, of Glasgow, publishing
"Hymns of Faith and Life", and eschewing such dog-
matic statements as "God in three Persons, blessed
Trinity", and setting the divineness of the present
life over against evangelical "otherworldliness". This
book, issued in 1889, was the forerunner of much in
present day hymnody. Let us take one example,
"The Pilgrim Hymnal" (1904), published under Con-
gregationalist auspices. The convictions of a large
number of leading men in the denomination were as-
certained by a questionnaire, and the book was thus
made up with some two hundred men acting as ad-
visers. Here are some of the characteristics of

54 Practical Hyrrmology

this intensely modern hymnal: First, there is an
effort to be strictly "up to date" in terminology.
Second, the idea of God's presence here is empha-
sized, as against the older conception of His remote-
ness, of His enthronement in the heavens. Third,
there is an indefiniteness as to the person and na-
ture of Christ. Fourth, the whole tone of the book
is distinctly non-ecclesiastical. Fifth, activity, serv-
ice, are stressed, instead of inward experience. Sixth,
hymns that deal with our probationary relation to
the future life are avoided. Seventh, and especially
characteristic, not only of this particular book, but
of the new hymnody in general, social service and
humanitarianism loom large.

And so, while our grandfathers and grandmothers
sang "When I can read my title clear", the present
generation is singing "Where cross the crowded ways
of life", and the hymmody of social service, of de-
mocracy, of concern for those not in the Church, has
come into vigorous being. Indeed, so far, this social,
democratic tendency is the twentieth century's con-
tribution to hymnody. Praise and service now go
hand in hand.

George Matheson, author of that matchless hymn,
"O Love that wilt not let me go", made this state-
ment a few years ago : ^^ "To my mind they [our
hymns] have one great defect; they lack humani-

" Quoted by Benson, op. cit., p. 588.

Historical Sketch 65

tarianism. There is any amount of doctrine in the
Trinity, Baptism, Atonement, or the Christian life
as such, but what of the secular life — the infirmary,
.the hospital, the home of refuge? ... I don't think
our hymns will ever be what they ought to be, until
we get them inspired by a sense of the enthusiasm of,
and for, humanity. It is rather a theological point,
perhaps, but the hymnists speak of the surrender to
Christ. They forget that Christ is not simply an in-
dividual. He is Head of a body, the body of human-
ity; and it no longer expresses the idea correctly to
join yourself to Christ only; you must give yourself
to the whole brotherhood of man to fulfil the idea".
Contemporary hymnody is adapting itself more
and more every day to this ideal of worship and
service; of reverent love for God, plus energetic ac-
tivity for the good of the weak and sinful ; of praijse
and thanksgiving for blessings and for salvation, to-
gether with earnest striving to bring in now, in the
hearts of all men everywhere, the kingdom of our
heavenly Father.

CHAPTER II

THE CHEAP

THERE are, perhaps, a number of reasons,
worthy and otherwise, for the singing of
hymns in religious services. Variety must be im-
parted to the program, or the people will be bored;
the dozing members of the congregation must be
stirred from the borderland of slumber by an im-
pressive noise; the entrance of certain late-comers
must be softened and covered by the general partici-
pation of the punctual in some sort of exercise; the
main point of the sermon must be presented from
another angle; the choir must be permitted to dis-
play its abilities; the right hand of fellowship must
be extended without the embarrassment of silence;
new members must be escorted to the front bench by
music. But there is only one fundamental reason for
the singing of h3^mns, and that is that the people may
worship God.

"God is a Spirit : and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth". Those who be-
lieve that statement of Scripture have witnessed
with genuine regret and sadness the growing popu-

56,

The Cheap ''Hymn'' 67

larity of cheap ^ "hymn" books. During the past ten
or fifteen years these books have poured forth from
publishing houses and spread over our country in
uncounted myriads. In the "Foreword" to one of
the most widely used of these publications there are
two sentences which may be quoted to convince pos-
sible doubters: "The author of this collection has
had large experience in compiling song books. His
books have gone into churches and Sunday schools by
the millions". And he is only one member of a con-
siderable fraternity.

It has already been suggested (in the Preface)
that the ignorance and indifference of pastor and
people are partly responsible for this most deplorable
condition. The consideration of hymns and hymn
singing has been neglected shamefully, in view of the
fact, which can not be disputed, that the worship of
God by the congregation is limited, in most churches,
to the singing of the three or four hj^mns used in
the course of the service. Now, worship is too im-
portant and vital an exercise to be veiled by the cob-
webs of careless disregard and slothfulness. When
a new minister is to be called, we consider long and
earnestly his past career, his successes and failures,
his ability as a preacher, his personal gifts, etc. We
pray about the matter and beg the Divine guidance

^The term, "cheap," refers throughout to quality and not
price.

68 Practical Hymnology

in selecting the right man. All this is as it should
be. But when we feel the need of a new hymnal, we
submit the worship of God to some slick-tongued
agent who usually carries along a load of specious
holiness and counterfeit piety as excess baggage, take
his word for the wonders of his hymn book, buy the
book, forthwith forgot about worshiping God in
spirit and in truth, and begin to "worship" Him in
ragtime and in jig. Our ancestors were so consider-
ate of the proprieties of the sanctuary that for cen-
turies they used only the actual words of Scripture
in their songs. We, now, will use anything, be it
never so cheap and unholy.

There are some other reasons for the rapid ad-
vance of cheap "hymns" into popular favor, which it
will be well to note.

In the first place, they are extensively and very
shrewdly advertised. And this advertising is not
done through newspapers in any large degree. At
nearly every denominational gathering (I speak par-
ticularly of Baptists here) cheap books are used, —
are "furnished" by the publisher. How generous!
For example, a certain book was "furnished" for a
recent meeting of North Carolina Baptist State Con-
vention. A few days after the Convention had closed,
a communication appeared in the Baptist State
paper from the pastor of the church in which the
Convention had met, to the effect that he had for-

The CJieap "Hi/7rm'* 69

gotten to announce that the books furnished by Bro.
So-and-So were for sale at such and such a price!
Two or three years ago I was invited to conduct the
music at an important denominational gathering in
another State. Some weeks before the time set for
the meeting I received a letter, written with evident
embarrassment, opining that, inasmuch as Bro.
Blank had kindly agreed to furnish hymn books, I
would probably like to be excused!

Now the simple truth of the matter is that all this
generous "furnishing" is done for the sole purpose of
advertising the book; and no man can dispute the
effectiveness of the method. Of course, no publisher
with the slightest regard for the proprieties and
sanctities of worship would think for a moment of
advertising in such a manner ; but the cheap "hymn"
book publishers, not being famous for the possession
of this quality, are but running true to type in pious-
ly "furnishing" with a view to remuneratively sell-
ing.

Not only are cheap books advertised at denomi-
national gatherings, but nearly every evangelistic
singer, so far as my observation goes, uses them,
and many sell them.^ Dear reader, have you ever lis-
tened to a quack doctor expatiating upon the excel-
lencies of his nostrum? If so, you have invariably
heard him conclude something like this: "Now,

^Cf. Dr. Benson's remarks, quoted above, p. 49.

60 Practical Hymnology

friends, you can find out all about what 'ails you,
and how to cure it, in my little book here ; price only
fifty cents." Were you ever among those present at
an exhibition of mind-reading? If so, you were ex-
posed to some such peroration as this: "Now,
friends, you can find out all about my . wonderful
powers, and how you may develop similar gifts, by
a perusal of my little book here; price, only fifty
cents." Neither the quack doctor nor the mind-
reader could be induced upon any consideration to
invade the house of God with their books; but the
professional singer hails the opportunity, and he is
quite willing to degrade and prostitute the sanctuary
and defile the worship of God by howling his wares
from the very Holy of Holies. Jesus, once upon a
time, with a scourge, drove from the temple the
money-changers, and those that bought and sold iil
His Father's House.

In some sections of the South "singing conven-
tions" are quite popular. The people come together
from all parts of the surrounding country, bring
the babies and abundant baskets of dinner, and spend
the day (or, sometimes, several days) whooping and
squalling and bellowing songs out of sundry cheap
books. Various "singing teachers" are on hand, each
extolling the glittering merits of the book for which
he is agent, and vieing with his fellows in oily piety
and in those acrobatic and vulgar antics that are

The Cheap ''HymrC' ^ 61

deemed necessary to the successful leadership of choir
and congregational singing.

Individual "hymns" receive valuable advertising
by their adoption as "official" songs. For example,
the B. Y. P. U. of one of the Southern States ex-
presses its ideals through the medium of a cheap
little ditty, called "As a Volunteer".— When the
Seventy-five Million Campaign was set on foot by
Southern Baptists, a certain gentleman wrote a
"Campaign Hymn" which was shipped all over the
South by the bale. It was called "When Millions
come pouring in", and it was of a cheapness and
sorriness indescribable. To make bad matters worse,
the ingenious gentleman had seized upon the music of
the noble "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as a ve-
hicle for his "poem". Some months ago one of our
humorous weeklies published "a page of Old Masters
as the Sunday Supplement artists of the present
time would have painted them". Among these inter-
esting pictures was "The Angelus", with Mutt and
JefF as the two figures in the foreground, — the latter
in the act of plunging a pitchfork into the unsus-
pecting anatomy of his friend. The "Campaign-
Hymn", with its superb borrowed music and its
jangling words, belongs in the same category pre-
cisely.

Perhaps the chief reason, however, for the popu-
larity of the cheap "hymn" is to be found in the

62 Practical Hyimiology

fondness for secular music of the same type, which
seems to be so characteristic of our time. Jazz,
waltzes, "Blues", ragtime, slushy sentimentality,
have become the musical expression of so many of
our people outside the church, that the same sort
of thing, with a poor, thin veneer of religion, is de-
manded in the church.^ Cheap secular songs have
secured such a strangle hold upon the feelings and
affections of church members that they can not stand
to be deprived of their favorite musical and sentimen-
tal (not to say intellectual) nutriment even in the
place of prayer and praise. And just as the silk-
shirted young gentlemen of Tin Pan Alley must work
far beyond ethical Union hours to supply the demand
for secular twaddle such as "Though she's only a
moonshiner's daughter, say, boys, I love her still",
"I never knew what a wonderful wife I had till the
town went dry", and "If I knock the L out of Kelly,
why he'll knock the 'ell out of me", so the prosperous
members of the Religious Ragtime Association are
always happily grinding out new "hymns", such as
"There's a question we must settle (vote it out!)"
[Tune, "Here's to good old Yale, drink it down"],
"Sinsick souls are dying fast", and "O get ye on to
Canaan", to supply the equally voracious demand
for "sacred" twaddle. New books simply must be
published every little while to meet this demand ; for,

^ Of. pp. 30-31 and 41, above.

The Cheap "Hymn'* 63

somehow, cheap songs, secular and sacred, wear out
rather quickly, like cheap clothes, and others must
always be on tap in a sufficient quantity (quality ap-
pears to be of no importance) to guarantee the
perpetuity of prosperity for the perpetrators and
happiness for the users.

If some courageous person were to urge these
publishers of sacred rags to start a campaign for the
elevation of public taste in the matter of songs for
the worship of God, he would be lucky to escape with
a whole skin. Elevate public taste, indeed ! It is
vastly easier and more profitable to pander to it;
for if it were elevated, there would soon be no market
for cheap "hymn" books.

A quotation from another "Foreword" will show
clearly the feelings of these publishers and compilers
as to the sublime merits of their wares, and will also
exhibit in all its ugliness the mercenary attitude that
characterizes the whole fraternity: "A lengthy
foreword is unnecessary, ars the friends will or should
examine a book carefully before selecting. This is
all that we ask for this book, and we earnestly seek
comparison with any hook in all songland. Many
months have been devoted to careful selection from
multiplied thousands of songs; faithful counsel has
been sought and obtained from faithful Pastors and
experienced Evangelists and Song Leaders ; and
much money has been expended in securing the copy-

64 Practical Hymnology

rights desired — in fact not a single song selected has
been omitted because the price was too high, although
large sums were ashed for some of these very popular
favorites.

"We do not ask friends to select this book simply
because it has more pages or a larger number of se-
lections than any other book that sells for the same
price, but we do believe that we have here the best
compilation of Gospel Hymns and Sunday School
Songs that has ever been compiled.

"A number of these songs are herein published for
the first time; examine these and the others not so
familiar to you, and j^ou will find that there is not a
'filler' in the book".^

There you have the whole sorry business, thought-
ful reader, set forth in unmistakable terms. And the
pious paragraph with which the above "foreword"
closes (which I have omitted in order not to identify
the book) is wholly out of place in a discussion of
"large sums" and "the same price".

I know, of course, that I shall be severely criticised
for calling in question the disinterested piety and
religious enthusiasm of these gentry. That is neither
here nor there, however, for the facts are on my side.
Let us consider them.

Worship embraces preaching, prayer and song,
and no man can say which is most important. Ser-

* The italics in this quotation are mine.

The Cliea'p ''Hymn" 65

mons and prayers are not turned out wholesale by
publishing houses, cop^^righted, and hawked up and
down the land by howling, prancing evangelistic
singers. Why should hymns be thus handled? When
a volume of sermons is published, the author, or com-
piler, does not inform a listening and awestruck world
that he has the best volume of sermons ever issued,
nor does he have any occasion to refer to the "large
sums" asked for "popular favorites". A preacher
who should write sermons for money would be justly
despised by everybody. We have, in our great hym-
nals, songs which express devoutly and beautifully
every feeling of worship that can possibly arise in
the breasts of Christians, — songs that grew out of
genuine spiritual experience,^ and not out of the
desire for a more impressive bank account. And
yet, cheap "hymn" writers continue to turn out
songs. Now, if the author of a poem or a tune wei^
really desirous of seeing his production blessed in
the bringing in of the Kingdom, he would not be so
anxious to get under the wing of the great god copy-
right, nor would he ask "large sums" for the use
of his precious ditty in a forthcoming book. And
if publishers were as interested in evangelizing the
world through hymns as they claim to be, they would
not be so eager to buy the copyrights of popular

^ For stories of the great hymns, consult Dr. S. W. Dufl&eld's
"English Hymns: their Authors and History," Funk and
Wagnalls, New York, 1886.

66 Practical Hymnology

songs and to boost their bank accounts by issuing
new collections every year or two.

The demand for cheap "hymns" began to be felt,
as has already been suggested, when cheap secular
music became popular, and these song writers and
publishers are doing their best (or, rather, their
worst) to supply the demand. The miserable stuff
they turn out will last only a relatively short time,
being cheap,^ and the Church or Sunday school will
be looking for a new book. It is always ready. A
short time ago an advertisement appeared in one
of our religious papers, urging readers to send for

"a copy of our new hymn book for 1920, ' , No.

5' ". In other words, the making of these "hymns"
and the publishing of these books has become a vast-
ly remunerative trade,''^ and those who profit by it
are pushing it to the limit. Now, I, for one, have no
objection to the accumulation of wealth by any man,
so long as he is honest, and so long as he keeps his
hands off of the service of the sanctuary. These
cheap songs are bad enough per se, in all conscience ;
and when to their inherent sorriness is added the fact
that men, through them, are making money out of the
degradation of the worship of God, they become un-
bearable.

The small minority of the tawdry fraternity who

» Cf. p. 63.

"C'f. p. (J3.

' Cf. Benson, quoted above, p. 49.

The Cheap "Hymn'' 67

are not writing for money, but who really think
they are producing genuine hymns, deserve no cen-
sure; rather they are in sore need of pity and en-
lightenment.

The method of construction of a cheap "hymn"
is precisely the same as that employed in the com-
position of the secular song of the same type. The
"poet" gets an idea around which to write his
words. This idea is almost invariably expressed
in the chorus, to which the verses bear more or less
relation.^ For instance, a gifted and popular mov-
ing picture actor recently returned to the United
States from Honolulu. In a conversation with one
of his frientis with regard to feminine costume among
the islanders, he remarked, "They are wearing them
higher in Hawaii". Forthwith one of the inmates
of Tin Pan Alley (referred to above) turned out
a song upon that edifying theme, the chorus of which
insisted again and again, almost to the point of
weariness and indecency, that they were wearing them
higher in Hawaii. The rest of the song did not mat-
ter. "Love lifted me", "Brighten the comer", and
"There is power in the Blood" are fine examples of
"sacred" songs composed after the same fashion.
The chorus is the main feature. Indeed, it is the
main feature of nearly all cheap songs, for church

*Cf., for example, that egregious piece of slush, "Just keep
sweet," the verses of which, after the first, have nothing what-
ever in common with the refrain.

68 Practical Hymnology

or home or dance hall consumption (c/. p. 72, be-
low). Any observant person will notice at once,
when he hears a song of this type perpetrated in
the house of God, that the congregation mumbles
the verses and bellows the chorus.

There is a "negro spiritual" that always occurs to
me in this connection. It is called "Little David",
and its words are as follows :

1. Little David was a shepherd boy,
He killed Goliath an '-a shout for joy.
Cho. Little David, play on your harp,

HaUelu', Hallelu',
Little David, play on your harp,
Hallelu!
S. Joshua was the son of a Nun,

He never would stop till the work was done.
Chorus.
3. 0, I tell you once, I tell you twice.

There are sinners in hell for shootin' dice.
Chorus.

Now, it will be observed that this classic deserts
its text, as it were. Surely; but that makes little
difference. Numbers of our cheap "hymns" show a
like desertion, — differing only in degree. Really,
you are supposed to say "Tum-te-tum-te-tum", etc.,
until you arrive at the chorus, when you are ex-
pected to get under a full head of steam immediately,

The Cheap ''Hymn'' 69

and roar, "Bright-un the cor-nur where yoii dre'\
etc., etc. It may be remarked, incidentally, that
that very popular song offers a sorry ideal to our
ambitious young people today.

The music of the cheap "hymn" now demands our
attention, and it may be said at the outset that the
"composers" are far more responsible for the sorri-
ness of the combined product than the "poet". The
words of the song may be but poor doggerel and sen-
timentality ; the verses may show only a distant kin-
ship to the chorus; the grammar may be (and often
is) nauseating; but there is always enough religion
about them to give the thoughtful singer at least a
vague impression that he is rendering something
which was intended to be a sacred song. But the
"composers" have abandoned utterly the spirit of
worship, and have fled, bag and baggage, to the
dance hall,^ the musical comedy, and the cheap movie
for their inspiration. The result is that thousands
of our churches and Sunday schools are using the
same sort of music exactly as is jingled forth by the
electric piano at the picture house, the pony ballet in
the theatre, and the jazz orchestra in the public
dance hall. Of course the music makes the popular-
ity of all songs, good and bad, and it has been sug-
gested already that our people like "sacred" music

» At a dance held two or three years ago in an Eastern North
Carolina city, the orchestra used "hymns" from one cheap
book the whole evening.

70 Practical Hymnology

of the ragtime type because of their fondness for
similar secular stuff.

We set great store, in our moral teaching, by as-
sociation. The card table is wrong because of its
immemorial connection with gambling ; the pool table
is to be shunned because it long occupied the back
room of the saloon. Now, how can a devout Chris-
tian worship God by singing a waltz.? How can a
sorry piece of ragtime carry a prayer upward to the
Throne? How, in heaven's name, can a one-step,
beslimed with the sensual postures of a dance hall,
make its way, as the bearer of holy adoration, above
the earth and into the pure air of the New Jerusa-
lem? There is a place for waltzes, ragtime and one-
steps, but it is not the church of the living God.

Let me illustrate. One of the most popular songs
(for which "large sums" are asked) in the repertoire
of the itinerant singer is called "Saved! Saved!"
It is a waltz, thinly disguised by twelve-eight time,
and a fairly good waltz, too. I have not discovered
the source of the music employed for the verses, but
the chorus is an adaptation of the same portion of
that once popular ballad, "I wisht I wuz single
again", — an adaptation, it may be said, — which de-
parts very slightly from the original fount
of inspiration. Play it over, and be convinced, if
you doubt. The author of this song liked its
music so well that about five years later he repeated

The Cheap "Hymn'

71

it in another waltz, called "Wonderful Name". A
more proper title would be "Wonderful Similarity".
No. 2 is written in a different key, but laying that
alteration aside, it is No. 1, almost note for note,
even down to a sliding stunt for the alto in the
chorus.

The term, ragtime, is technically used to refer to
rapid and frequent syncopation. Ragtime music was
first popularized by Kerry Mills, composer of
"Whistlin' Rufus", "Georgia Camp Meetin' ", "Hap-
py Days in Dixie", etc. Innumerable writers have
flooded the country with ragtime, good and bad,
since Mills' day (some twenty years ago), and the
concocters of cheap "hymns" have not by any means
been left behind the band wagon. Three or four
measures of "Brighten the corner" will illustrate the
use of syncopation in "hymns":

Brighten the corner where you axe; Brighten the corner where you are, etc.

The syllables -en of brighten and -ner of cornet

are syncopated twice each in those four measures.^^

Worse, however, than the waltz or the ragtime,

" For the sake of clearness I have written the second measure
simply, omitting a hair-raising nose dive and spiral ascent
for the bass, wWch occurs in the printed song.

72

Practical Hymnology

is the jingle, for it scrapes the mud off the very
bottom of the slough of cheapness. And, strange to
say, the jingle is far more popular for "sacred"
than for secular songs. Here is a sample (words
omitted) :

This is a movement exceedingly precious to the souls
of our dear "hymn" composers.

One more general characteristic of these songs
must be noted. Not only do almost all of them pos-
sess a chorus, as the main feature (c/. p. 67, above),
but that chorus is subjected to those adornments
and labors of love that should always distinguish the
most precious things in life. It contains gymnastic
contortions for the basso, death-defying gyrations
for the tenor, or double- jointed circumambulations
for the alto — sometimes, to be sure, frantic and
dangerous exertions for all three simultaneously —
while the soprano bravely pegs away at the tune.
Truly, it is marvelous and inspiring to hear !

These three types, then, the waltz, the ragtime,
the jingle, with the usual acrobatic chorus, will be
found to make up nine-tenths of the cheap "sacred"

The Cheap ''Hymn'* 73

songs that pour forth every year in a muddy flood
that threatens to engulf all genuine worship.

We may now consider the publisher's side of the
question. He is issuing books as a trade, just as the
majority of song writers are grinding out individual
songs. He is concerned with the prosperity of his
business, he makes it a point to keep in touch with
the market, and he estimates carefully and usually
correctly how long a new product will last. He may
not have admitted, even to himself, that the quality
of the stuff he turns out determines its longevity;
but he knows that, somehow, it does not last long',
and he rejoices thereat, since he can sell more
books. Let us suppose that "Sounding Brass No.
1" was issued early this year. Before the ink is dry
the publisher is making his plans for "Sounding
Brass No. 2", to be put on the market as soon as
the sales of S. B. No. 1 begin to show a marked de-
cline. His preparation includes the purchase of as
many popular songs as he can buy, the expenditure
of "large sums" for the use of those he can not get
outright, careful investigation of the relative popu-
larity of the songs in S. B. No. 1, "faithful counsel
from faithful Pastors and experienced Evangelists
and Song Leaders", — arid counting of the profits.
When the time is ripe, that is, when churches and
Sunday schools seem about ready to make a change
in books, S. B. No. 2 is sent forth with great pomp

74 Practical Hymnology

and circumstance. Let us glance at its contents.
It opens with a preface, or "foreword", written either
bj the compiler, or, if his vocabulary was exhausted
in extolling the merits of S. B. No. 1, by some very
influential minister. Then follow the songs. The
more popular ones from S. B. No. 1 are reprinted,
with enough new productions to justify the change
in the title, and to impart an aspect of novelty to
the book. Over in the back, in miserable, small type,
and ignominiously treated as a sort of caudal ap-
pendage, are fifty or more real hymns to serve as a
sop to the feelings of that minority who still believe
in spiritual worship in song.

These good hymns do not cost the publisher "large
sums", for they were written for the glory of God.
In many of these books the section (at the rear)
containing the real songs of worship is headed "De-
votional Hymns". Lo ! the poor compilers, hoist on
their own petard! All hymns ought to he devotional,

I have before me a cheap hymnal, published two
years ago, in which the genuine hymns are better
treated as to type and are scattered through the
book. That is a great improvement, as I am glad to
admit, though to be sure I should think the good
hymns would prefer to flock by themselves, bad type
or no, rather than to be surrounded by such sorry
company.

The Cheap ''Hymn'' 75

The process outlined above is repeated at more or
less regular intervals, the market is always flooded
with a steady stream of Sounding Brasses, the prof-
its pile up, and everybody is happy, except those
who grieve at the spectacle of the worship of God
brought down to the level of the street and the dance
hall by the depravity of popular taste and the
willingness of writers and publishers to pander to it
for the sake of unholy gain. "Thou shalt not take
the name of the Lord thy God in vain" may surely
be paraphrased to read, "Thou shalt not use un-
worthily the name of the Lord thy God, for the sake
of increasing thy store of the mammon of unright-
eousness".

A session with these books under the leadership
of a singer who loves them (for one reason or an-
other) is a sight for the gods. The whole perform-
ance would not last one night at any cheap vaude-
ville show in the land. The singer marches up on the
platforai, cracks a few venerable jokes, unlimbers
his muscles and his larynx and announces a "hymn".
Then, while the audience turn over the pages in the
search for the gem with which they are about to
approach the throne of God, the singer gets a few
more hand-picked classics out of his system. Every-
body being at last ready, the pianist reels off a few
measures (keeping time with as much of his anatomy

76 Practical HymTwlogy

as he can move without precipitating himself from
his seat), the people get their feet into action, and
the worship of God begins.

It continues until time for the Scripture, or until
the jokes give out, or until the singer grows weary
of waving his arms around in the frantic effort to
keep the songs up to good dance hall tempo. Pleas-
antries are exchanged between singer and audience,
such as, "All the good-looking young ladies under
thirty are requested to sing the next verse, the men
joining in the chorus", etc., etc., etc. On a certain
Sunday last year the writer attended the Sabbath
school in one of the greatest churches in the South.
The superintendent, dissatisfied with the manner in
which the audience sang the first "hymn", proposed
that they should whistle it, which they did with
alacrity. It is needless to say that the song was
a cheap jig. No one out of a lunatic asylum would
ever think of suggesting that "Jesus, lover of my
soul" should be whistled in a religious service.

Such performances are disgraceful and sacrile-
gious beyond the power of words to express, and yet
they are going on all over the land, every Sunday in
the year.

We may now examine the arguments usually ad-
vanced for the use of cheap "hymns".

Firstly, "the books cost less money than real
hymnals". How often have we all heard that piece

The Cheap ''Hymn'' 77

of shallow sophistry! To be sure they cost less
money at the outset. But by the time the church
or Sunday school has bought new books two or three
times in the space of four or five years, it has spent
much more than would have been required for a good
hymn book that would last indefinitely.

Secondly, "the people tire of the 'old' hymns".
Yes, they frequently do. And when that happens,
you may be sure that one or more of three reasons
is responsible. Either a very few hymns have been
sung over and over, or they have been senselessly
dragged to death by a lazy choir and a still lazier
congregation, or some enemy of the true worship
of God has been sowing tears. The remedy is, of
course, the learning of more good hymns, a little
more energy and spirit in choir and congregation,
and a cold shoulder to the enemy.

Thirdly, "these songs are not so difficult to sing
as the standard hymns". That statement, made so
often in defense of trash, is wholly false, as can be
proven by anybody who knows enough music to sit
down at the piano and play over songs of both
types. "Onward, Christian soldiers" is very much
easier to play and sing than "The fight is on". The
lovely harmony of "O Jesus, Thou art standing" is
infinitely simpler than the cumbersome waltz meas-
ures of "Let Jesus come into your heart". Examples
might be multiplied indefinitely. The cheap song,

78 Practical Hymnology

with its jingling, jigging verses and its rantankerous
chorus, requires considerably more musical (not to
say acrobatic) ability for its rendition than does
a devotional, worshipful hymn; and the proponents
of the ditty need never attempt to substantiate the
contrary to any pastor who is at all musical, and
still less to a director of music who can distinguish
between A flat and B flat.

We are told, too, that the sentiments expressed
in the standard hymns, "used and defended by high-
falutin folks", are over the heads of the great masses
of the people, who must, therefore, have songs of
a lower literary grade. I do not believe that
wretched slander, and I challenge any jigster on
earth to prove it. There is not a man or woman,
boy or girl, in any of our churches unable to com-
prehend the meaning of "My faith looks up to Thee",
or "Joy to the world", or "The Homeland", or
"Stand up, stand up for Jesus", or "Day is dying
in the West", or "The King of Love my Shepherd
is". "The defenders of this popular hymnody . . .
often very gravely underestimate the capacity of
the popular mind to rise above vulgar embodiments
of truth and to shake itself free from perverted senti-
mentality".-^^ I should like to alter Professor
Pratt's statement slightly, so as to have it read, "The

"Pratt, Of. ait., p. 60.

The Cheap ''Hymn'* 79

defenders of this popular hymnody . . . often suc-
ceed in causing pastors and musical directors very
gravely to underestimate", etc. Devout Christians
may well be insulted at such a thinly disguised
insinuation of feeble-mindedness as is conveyed by the
glib patter of some book agent who contends that
they can not apprehend the true inwardness of "In
the cross of Christ I glory" and "All hail the power
of Jesus' name".

A fourth argument employed with particular fre-
quency and zest by advocates of cheap "hymns" is
that they stir up "the pep". They do. But the
"pep" thus engendered is a poor, specious counter-
feit of that deep religious enthusiasm aroused by
the hearty singing of a real hymn. It may well be
doubted very seriously whether "pep" is a needful
commodity for religious bodies, anyway. Enthusi-
asm, zeal, energ}^, are invaluable, and the more we
have of them, the sooner will the Kingdom of God
become an accomplished fact. But "pep" somehow
suggests the cheering section at a college baseball
game, or a hustling salesman, or a ranting chautau-
qua lecturer. Laying aside, however, the more or less
slender difference of meaning between the words
"pep" and "enthusiasm", I maintain that the re-
sults in religious fervor claimed for cheap songs may
not only be equalled, but surpassed, through the use

80 Practical Hymnology

of good songs. -^^ Not long ago I received from a
Presbyterian pastor a letter, one paragraph of
which is pertinent at this point: "I am more im-
pressed with the necessity for it [the study of hym-
nology] than ever, because I have just closed a meet-
ing for a brother pastor, a young man, who is a good
singer and a good song leader, but I had to tell him
perfectly plainly that some of the stuff he was teach-
ing those people to sing for music and for worship
disgusted me, made a farce of the whole thing, and
absolutely sent me to my sermon with every vestige
of real worship gone from me. We then took up
the old hymns and the entire spirit of the meeting
changed. After he had made them sing 'Brighten
the comer*, etc., I raised 'There is a fountain filled
with blood,' and everybody got out of the comer,
got together, began to worship, and God came down
to us".

Pardon another personal experience. On a Sun-
day morning last summer I attended a large Baraca
class in a Southern city. The pianist told me she
did not sympathize with my attitude toward popular
hymnody, and that she liked for the men in the class
to sing "stirring songs". About fifteen minutes later
we had a "stirring song" announced, — that cheap,

"Pratt, O'p. cit., p. 60, says: "They [the defenders of cheap
songs] constantly mistake the zest of animal enjoyment in a
rub-a-dub rhythm or the shout of childish pleasure in a 'catchy'
refrain for real religious enthusiasm."

The Cheap ''Hymn'' 81

tawdry march already mentioned, "The fight is on".
Since there were no professional acrobats in the class,
the men simply looked at the verses, while the lady
worked diligently at the piano. When they reached
the chorus, a few raised their voices feebly, and the
only part of the "stirring hymn" that seemed to
give general satisfaction was the end. Now, if "The
Son of God goes forth to war" had been the selec-
tion, the state of mind of the men in that class would
have been quite different at the conclusion of the
hymn.

The simple truth of the matter is, of course, that
singers and publishers have diligently spread abroad
the miserably false idea that there is no enthusiasm,
or "pep", in the great hymns; that congregations
can not be aroused to spiritual activity by the "old
songs" ; in short, that the only remedy which can
cure a church of religious lethargy is jazz, waltz, and
"sacred" ragtime. So assiduously has this wretched
and poisonous heresy been disseminated that thou-
sands of people actually believe it.

Reference has already been made to the almost
universal use of cheap song books by evangelistic
singers. A protracted meeting nowadays is frequent-
ly a queer affair, being a sort of mixture of religion
and buffoonery, the devout spirit of worship and
the spicy aroma of the dance hall, the sober pre-
sentation of the Word of God and the vulgar antics

82 Practical Hymrwlogy

of the vaudeville clown. Again I beg to submit that
just as many souls would be saved, and saved far
more genuinelj^, and far more decently, if "Just as
I am, without one plea" were sung, instead of "What
a gath'ring that will be", with its tinkling verses
and three-ring circus chorus.

Permit me to repeat that, in the protracted meet-
ing, or in the regular services of the church or Sun-
day school, more enthusiasm and enthusiasm of an
infinitely higher character can be aroused by the
vigorous singing of a good hymn than by the
equally vigorous rendition of a poor one. And if
tenderness, devoutness, contrition, prayerfulness, are
to be sought through the service of song, nobody in
his right mind would or could propose a piece of
sorry ragtime as the agent of their stimulation.

A recent issue of The Congregationalist contains
the following brief and forceful article, under the
heading, "Better music for the youth of today'*:

"Prof. Augustine Smith in his leadership of the
music at the International Council gave a practical
demonstration of how completely the standard hymns
of the church lend themselves to worship. He showed
that it is not at all necessary to use religious rag-
time to the accompaniment of a trick pianist with
the leading of a clown to make music worshipful. He
not only brought out the message of the musical

The Cheap ''Hymn'* 83

setting of the hymns, but he also interpreted wonder-
fully the poets who wrote them. For two or three
years he has been rendering this same sort of service
to the country through the conventions of the In-
ternational Sunday School Association. In other
years the association was not so fortunate in its
leadership because the musical leaders tried to make
the music a performance rather than an act of wor-
ship. In many of the conventions held by the as-
sociation also no attempt apparently was made to
teach the delegates how to make the music in the
home church the most worshipful.

"In a large convention held by another interde-
nominational organization we could not help con-
trasting the music with that led by Prof. Smith at
Boston. The book used was put out by the publish-
ing house of the organization and its preface was
written by one of the foremost Christian leaders.
The hymns in the book are not representative of the
best music of the church, and the singing was led
by a man who acted more the part of a clown than
that of a leader of music in a Christian gathering.
The pianist was a trick player, whose 'dives' and 'up-
percuts' tended to destroy what worshipful spirit
there might have been in the large number of youth
present. The convention was for young people. It
is a crime when the music of a Christian gathering
is treated as an opportunity for personal or techni-

84« Practical HymTwlogy

cal display and not as a means and an ideal of wor-
ship for youth.

"Prof. Smith has proved conclusively that young
people will sing heartily the best hymns of the church
if they have the proper leadership. It is time for
the great interdenominational organizations to de-
mand that their youth in the impressionable period
be given the best music under the most reverent
leadership, not only in order that they may learn
how to worship, but that they may fill their memory
with hymns worth retaining. We ought to have a
change in the kind of music provided for our youth
and we ought to have it at once."

Many thoughtful Christians have deeply deplored
the rapid growth of irreverence for sacred things and
sacred places, particularly among the younger
generation. There is no doubt in my own mind that
this most unfortunate condition is due very largely
to the irreverent way in which we worship God in
song in so many of our meetings. How, in all seri-
ousness, can a boy be expected to maintain a reverent
attitude toward the Sunday morning service, when
the "hymns" that are sung are so insistently rem-
iniscent of the dance he attended the night before,
or of the piano at the picture show which he patron-
ized the preceding week? If the songs, his only
medium of participation in the service, are jazzy,

The Cheap "Hymn'^ 85

how can his feeling toward the service be reverent?

Yet another argument frequently submitted for
cheap "hymns" is that the people like them. That is
quite true, unfortunately. Many people like whisky,
also. But whisky has been outlawed, not only by
Constitutional amendment but also by public
opinion, and people who like it are either developing
a taste for other beverages or intrusting their lives
to the doubtful contents of the blockader's jug. Is
this an unfair illustration? Not at all. Whisky
was outlawed because it was found to exert a deleteri-
ous effect upon the human body. The human soul
is a far more important thing than the fleshly en-
velope in which it resides. And if the cheap song
degrades the worship of God, then it also degrades
that spiritual essence within us through which alone
we can worship. Surely we have trifled and piddled
long enough, with this cancer eating at the heart of
the service of praise and thanksgiving. The time has
come to pluck it out and cast it from us and to con-
sider deeply and carefully how we may better wor-
ship God in spirit and in truth.

Again, we have all heard remarks like this: "Yes,
there is a lot of trash in that ^Sanctified Jazz No.
19', but it contains a lot of standard hymns, too".
That sort of statement is hardly to be dignified by
the word "argument" ; it is a kind of excuse for the
cheap book, and a very poor excuse, too. Why

86 Practical Hyumology

compromise? The only thing to do is to use a book
that contains good hymns exclusively, and there are
many of them. Use the two types of songs side by
side; the popular taste for trash will in the majority
of cases shuffle the real hymns permanently into the
background. Remove the trash absolutely and use
only genuinely worshipful songs ; soon you will have
so far elevated the appreciation of the people as to
make even erstwhile devotees of trash rejoice in the
deeply spiritual worship of God. The one sure means
of accomplishing this result is, as suggested above,
the steady use of a book that offers no cheap songs
whatsoever.

Another variety of compromise is found in many
churches and pushed for all it is worth by the pub-
lishers of cheap books. A good hymnal is used for
both the church services (though there are many
churches in which, for some unknown and abstruse
reason, trash is dragged out for the evening wor-
ship), but for the Sunday school some sorry job lot
of dance music is favored. Now, such a compromise
as that is especially poisonous, for the simple reason
that our young folks have their taste for sacred song
formed almost entirely in the Sunday school, and if
they are trained there to love trash, trash they must
have when they come into the church. And so, of
course, the cheap publishers encourage this com-
promise, like the keen business men they are, for

The Cheap ''Hymn'' 87

"train up a child in the way he should go, and when
he is old he will not depart from it" is just as true
if another "not" be inserted before "go".

There has been some little discussion recently as
to the tendency of young people to attend Sunday
school and various and sundry religious societies
and "circles", and to absent themselves from the
church service. It has been suggested by high and
expert authorities that the remedy for this un-
fortunate condition is the alteration of the church
service to suit the demands of the young people. This
can mean one thing, and one thing only, and that is
the lowering of the devotional standards of the
Lord's house, through the introduction of cheap
hymns (where they are not already in use) and
various other unworthy devices to charm a variegated
array of half-baked tastes. I do not believe that
even this miserable compromise will solve the prob-
lem, for it is just as vital in churches that have thus
surrendered the true spirit of worship as in those
that have not. The only solution, in my opinion,
lies in a proper attention to the correct training of
the boys and girls m the Sunday scliool. If there are
decorum and dignity and the genuine spirit of wor-
ship there (and this is not in the least incompatible
with youthful enthusiasm) , then the transition to the
church service is natural and easy. On the other
hand, if reverence is undermined and all but de-

88 Practical Hymnology

stroyed by cheap songs and sundry little stunts and
antics, then the church service will appear stiff and
solemn and not to be endured. In other words, what
we need is not the alteration of the church service
to suit the fancy of the young people, but the train-
ing of the young people into a reverence and love
for the church service. And the Sunday school is
the proper and the natural place for this training.

So far as hymns are concerned, there is no earthly
reason why one book should be used in church and a
different (and sorry) one in the Sunday school. The
children can he trained to love the good hymns ;^^
and we are exceedingly remiss in our duty to them
when we expend all our energies in superintending
their mental development during the week, only to
expose them on Sunday morning to reverence-killing
and soul-dwarfing trash in the shape of unworship-
ful songs. The whole problem of the cheap "hymn"
would be solved, and the publishers and writers there-
of driven to the wall, or to reformation, if Sunday
schools everywhere would sing only genuine hymns.

This chapter began with the statement that the
hymn is, above all other considerations, an act of
worship. Let us return to that point briefly.

"There are innumerable truly worshipful songs whose beauty
and whose message can be grasped by children far more com-
pletely than some of their elders, who delight to stuff the
childish mind and heart with trash, conceive. Cf. also the
article quoted above, pp. 82-64.

The Cheap "Hymn'' 89^

It should be our ideal and purpose to approach
God's throne with our prayer and praise as reverent-
ly and worshipfuUy as in us lies. We have no right
to use an unworthy vehicle for our devotions,^* even
if some of us do prefer it. Our Lord is no mumbo-
jumbo deity to be propitiated with dance hall dit-
ties ; He merits and demands the best and the noblest
offerings of worship that we can bring, and the emo-
tions and aspirations that ascend to Him on the
pinions of song are too divine, too sacred, to be de-
graded and defiled by the cheap jingle of the street.
A minstrel show in the choir loft and a buck-and-
wing stunt in the pulpit would not be one whit more
sacrilegious than some of the hymns that are sung
in choir lofts and some of the contortions perpe-
trated in pulpits all over this land. For the minstrel
and the buck-and-wing are frankly secular, while
cheap songs are doggerel and sentimentality and jig
masquerading for money in sacred robes; and the
ancient jokes and wild gyrations of song leaders
are poor vaudeville acts parading under the guise
of religious enthusiasm. Harsh words, surely. Yes ;
we have coddled and pampered these noxious weeds
in the garden of the Lord long enough, and the time
has come for sound thinking and straight talking.
There is no ragtime plank in the divine platform of

"Read, in tMs connection, the first chapter of the prophecy
of Malachi.

'90 Practical Hyrwriology

salvation; the mouldy, rotten log of worship on
which so many Christians are standing was rolled
up to the platform by man for man's glory, and it
has tainted the spiritual atmosphere with its rank
fungi of worldliness and crawling vermin of dollar-
chasing far too long. Let us break it to pieces and
destroy it in the fire of genuine religious fervor,
while we sing worthily unto God the great songs of
Zion !

How, it may be asked, are genuine hymns to be
distinguished ^^ from cheap imitations? By apply-
ing one or more of three tests.

First, the test of time. I do not mean to imply,
of course, that all old hymns are good, while all new
ones are bad. But if only the songs that have sur-
vived all the pruning and winnowing of hundreds of
learned and devout men, and that are found in every
real hymnal of all denominations, are sung, the wor-
ship of God is perfectly safe. We use frequently
the phrase, "the good old hjnnns", and we signify
thereby songs of the type of "Am I a soldier of the
cross"; "O God, our help in ages past"; "Majestic
sweetness sits enthroned"; "Blest be the tie that
binds"; "Rock of Ages"; and the like. Those are
the hymns that have survived all the tests that can

"There are, of course, some songs about which persons of
the best taste would differ. These, however, form a compara-
tively small group.

The Cheap ''Hymn** 91

be applied, and that are still fragrant with the
Divine Presence.

Secondl}^, there is a real and vital spiritual in-
stinct that will always function with unerring ac-
curacy, unless it has been put to sleep with the drugs
of mercenary hymnody. Refer a hymn to that in-
stinct; ask its judgment upon the worshipfulness of
the hymn, — words and music. Suppose you desire
to sing about heaven. Set before your spiritual in-
stinct, "I will shout His praise in glory (so will I,
so will I)", and let its jingling measures resound in
your ears. If you recover from the shock, find
"Jerusalem, the golden"; read the wonderful, devo-
tional words and listen to the dignified, beautiful
music of the tune "Ewing". Then decide which of
the two songs best expresses your idea of heaven.

Suppose, again, you want to praise God for His
grace that brought you salvation. Here is "Only
a sinner, saved by grace". It begins "Naught have
I gotten but what I received" (a marvelous clause
whose meaning no man can tell) , rambles on through
four ungrammatical and illogical verses (and a
ragtime chorus), and closes with this gem of lin-
guistic distortion : "Once more to tell it, would I em-
brace !" Or examine " 'Whosoever' meaneth me" ; and
weep. I can not refrain from quoting the chorus of
this unutterably cheap ditty. It will illustrate quite

92 Practical Hyrrmology

clearly the poetic genius of the author: "'Whoso-
ever', surely meaneth me, surely meaneth me, O surely
meaneth me; *Whosoever', surely meaneth me,
'whosoever', meaneth me (meaneth me)". Now, com-
pare with those two precious jigs the majestic strains
of "All hail the power of Jesus' name", or the in-
spiring worshipfulness of "Crown Him with many
crowns". Your instinct can not lead you astray.
Examples might be multiplied indefinitely.

Thirdly, the surest and best test ^^ by which, to
determine the quality of a hymn is, of course, the
test of mature judgment. If your judgment is im-
mature or biased, dear reader, don't admit it by
supercilious ridicule of those who, with the interest
of the worship of God at heart, are trying to rectify
and develop it. There are people who prefer ten-
cent detective stories to Dickens and Hugo. There
are others who would rather hear a jazz band than
a great orchestra. And there are still others who
dearly love to sing waltzes, ragtime and jingles
in church. A real judge of devotional poetry can
determine in a flash the relative merit of "Sweeter as
the days go by" and "0 Love that wilt not let me

" Pratt, Of. cit., pp. 69-71, suggests still another test, namely,
the power of the hymn in actual use to impress "indifferent,
immature, or half-participating users," and justly insists that
"we surely have no right to allow the conception of Chris-
tianity to be lowered in such minds by trivial, perverted or
misleading presentations of it."

The Cheap ''Hymn'* 93

go"; of "Grace, enough for me" ^^ and "When I sur-
vey the wondrous cross".

The difference between the music of a good song
and a trashy one is more easily apprehended than
is the poetical discrepancy. Anybody with the
slightest knowledge or appreciation of music can
tell at once that "Count your blessings" is very, very
bad, while "Love divine, all loves excelling" is superb ;
that "There is a green hill far away" is immeasurably
superior to "He died for me" (although the latter is
as close an imitation of the former, music, time and
idea, as it can possibly be) ; that "Love is the theme"
and "The King of Love my Shepherd is" are not to
be mentioned in the same breath; that "Where we'll
never grow old" is tawdry and "Hark! Hark! my
soul" is sublime.

With the treasures of great souls available to us
all, in our hymns, why must so many of us tie our
spirits down to the poor, cheap twitterings of little
money-chasing men and women? Why must we
crawl along the ground and scour the street and the
dance hall for the means of praise and thanksgiving,
when we can scale Pisgah's lofty height and hold
reverent communion with our Maker .^^ Let us cast

"The second verse of this jewel runs as follows (italics,
mine) : "While standing there, my trembling heart, Once full
of agony, could scarce believe the sight 1 saw Of grace, enough
for me."

94 Practical HymTiology

aside our careless, indifferent attitude, and thought-
fully, earnestly, prayerfully, strive to approach the
Throne with offerings of the best we can bring, —
to worship the Father in spirit and in truth!

CHAPTER III

MUSIC IN THE CHURCH AND SUNDAY SCHOOL

IN some sections of our country there is a sincere
effort being made to fight the cheaper sort of pop-
ular (secular) songs. Thoughtful men and women
are beginning to realize that many of the productions
of Tin Pan Alley are not only disgusting from the
point of view of music, but positively immoral in their
words. It is pleasant to be able to chronicle the fact
that wherever the attention of young people has
been sharply called to the real quality of the stuflP
they have been singing, a great awakening and im-
provement have immediately ensued. For example,
one of our daily papers not long ago reprinted an
article from the New York Evening Post, describing
how the city of Madison, Wisconsin, promoted a cam-
paign to teach the masses good music. Newspapers,
schools, stores, restaurants, moving picture theatres,
and churches assisted in pushing this campaign,
which was conceived and organized by the School
of Music of the University of Wisconsin. The theory
of this anti-jazz drive was as follows (as stated by
one of the University professors) : "With their ears

95

96 Practical Hymnology

filled with some of these hauntingly beautiful, simple
melodies it will be more difficult for people to listen
to the vulgar monotony of bad music. One selection
a day was all that we presented to the public, and
on that selection was concentrated most of our at-
tention for that day. The selections ranged any-
where from '01' Black Joe' to 'Moment Musicale'.
I believe that the reason why many people think
they do not Kke good music is that they are ignorant
of it. It was to combat this condition that we
started on our campaign. We wanted the people in
general to see, what many of us are already fortunate
enough to know, that good music does not neces-
sarily mean heav}^ music or dull music".

The Literary Digest of Aug. 14, 1920, published
some opinions upon the possibility of stamping out
the more objectionable popular songs. War has
been declared upon them, it appears, by the General
Federation of Women's Clubs. One of the leaders in
this fight recently wrote as follows : "I have worked
for twenty years on the theory that jazz and rag-
time, in its original form, would be the basis of the
future American school [of composition]. But that
is no reason why I can not see that ragtime and jazz,
when vulgarized, are an actual menace to the life,
morals, and education of young America to-day.

"When one knows that in one of Chicago's big-

Music m the Church and Swnday Schaol 97

gest and best high schools the students bought two
thousand popular songs in two weeks, and that the
committee of students appointed by the school found
only forty which they considered fit for boys and
girls to sing together, don't you really think some-
thing should happen to awaken American parents
to their responsibilities?

"In a Middle-Western city where I had been giv-
ing talks in which I attacked the evil popular songs
I said to the manager of a music-shop that I hoped
I had not hurt her business. She replied, 'If I could
help you in this campaign I'd give up everything
else in the world to do it'. She told me that seventy-
five per cent, of her customers were high-school boys
and girls who bought nothing but this trash, and
she said that they blushed when they asked for it."

Even the National Association of Masters of
Dancing is girding up its toes for the fray. If a
news item from New York City, under date of Aug.
27, 1920, may be credited, the Association, on the
preceding evening, listened with approval to a speak-
er who declared that the public had had too much
jazz and was turning toward more "natural" music.
He urged "a rigid censorship of words in music and
said suggestive lyrics should be discontinued'^ The
Association evolved a new step, described as slow
and graceful, called "The Wesleyan", "with the

98 Practical HyTrmology

avowed hope that it will receive approval of the
Methodist Church, the anti-dancing edict of which
the convention has deplored each day" !

Now, a fight against trash, in the field of secular
or sacred song, is a difficult, discouraging, and al-
most endless affair. But a beginning has been made
by many men and women, and there are thousands
of people who only need to have their attention di-
rected to the sort of stuff their children sing in the
parlor and in the church to rise up in arms and
swell the forces of decency everywhere.

In the preceding chapter the qualities and char-
acteristics of cheap "religious" songs were set forth,
together with their method of construction and the
motives that actuate their authors and publishers.
We must now consider how best to fight against their
introduction into our churches, Sunday schools and
young people's societies, and how most successfully
to drive them out of the strongholds they have al-
ready occupied.

These tasks, as has been suggested, are of great
difficulty, for two reasons. First, the love of cheap
music has become, during the past ten or fifteen
years, almost second nature to great masses of our
people. They have acquired the habit of proclaiming
loudly, and (strange to say) somewhat loftily, their
ignorance of "classical" music, and of displaying
clearly their supreme boredom when a courageous

Mtisic m the Church cmd Smiday School 99

musician attempts to render some of it. We have all
heard remarks like the following, delivered with a
rather exasperating air of independence and supe-
riority: "Well, I suppose that selection was very
fine, but it was beyond Trie; I have never been trained
in music, you see". As a matter of fact, numerous
musical masterpieces are beyond the comprehension
of the layman; but, on the other hand, just as many
can be heard and thoroughly appreciated by persons
with no training in music whatever. In other words,
the trouble with the average listener is not inability
to enjoy, but disinclination, usually based upon a
wholly incorrect idea of what good music really is.
To fight against a state of mind is a task difficult
enough, surely; but there is yet another considera-
tion which at least doubles the difficulty. The writers
and publishers of cheap songs might have given use-
ful pointers on the dissemination of propaganda to
the wretched crew at Potsdam before and during the
Great War. The unworthy and frequently disrepu-
table means they employ to advertise their wares
have already been discussed. These men are of course
thoroughly cognizant of the popular fondness for
trash, and they are capitalizing it in a most efficient
and disgraceful manner — disgraceful, because their
millions are made through the degradation of the
worship of God. Here, then, is the foe : a sort of two-
headed beast, spitting out coruscating ragtime and

100 Practical Hymnology

jingles and poisonous onesteps and foxtrots, and
creeping on his slimy belly into the very Holy of
Holies.

The principle enunciated above (pp. 85-86)
may be repeated here and insisted upon as funda-
mental, namely, that there can be no compromise
whatsoever in this fight. If an accurate accounting
could be taken of the profits which publishers of
cheap hymn books make every year, at least half of
such profits would probably be found to accrue from
the Sunday school compromise, that is, from the
sale of cheap books for Sunday school use only. He
who compromises with a scorpion or a rattlesnake is
lost; he who dallies with and coddles the equally
poisonous dance hall hymn will soon be in full re-
treat, with the triumphant jeers of the publisher
speeding him on his way.

To those pastors, superintendents, and choir-
masters who have not yet surrendered their service
of worship to Mammon I beg to submit the foregoing
paragraph as containing full armor for the fray.
For the cheap "hymn" almost invariably creeps into
the church by way of the Sunday school ; and if that
entrance be closed fast and sure, in spite of the
frantic appeals of the young people for "popular"
songs, then the worship of God will be safe from
contamination and pollution.

The task of driving out cheap books is far more

Music m the Church and Svmday School 101

complicated and difficult than that of keeping them
out. In order to accomplish the former success-
fully and permanently, there must, first of all, be a
deep and unalterable conviction in the minds of the
minister and his co-workers of the vital importance
of genuinely spiritual worship in all the various
services which are held in the church or under its
auspices. If there is any uncertainty or hesitation
here, the task is absolutely hopeless.

In the second place, these leaders of the people
must be equally deeply and unalterably convinced
of the inherent cheapness and sorriness of the rag-
time "hymn", and, therefore, of its absolute unfit-
ness as a vehicle for prayer and praise. With these
convictions as sword and shield, the fight may be
begun hopefully and confidently. Without them —
"God has the right to be worshipped with the best
we have or can secure, even if the process of getting
and bringing it costs us something. Indeed, if it
costs nothing it means nothing. Every item of wor-
ship is an offering of joy and devotion to Him, and
its worthiness is to be measured by what it means
to the offerer. In too many prayer-meetings and
other church services the devotional dignity of hymn-
singing has been destroyed on this side. A poor
book is used, which the people know to be poor
and in their heart despise, because they are too
mean to get a better one. Poor selections are kept

102 Practical Hymnology

in use, against which the feeling of the users more
or less revolts, because they are too lazy and in-
different to attempt better ones. The leaders, both
the minister and his musical helpers, have fallen
into a disconsolate apathy about the exercise, and
let it drag along in a stupid, poverty-stricken, list-
less fashion, not because they are without a sense
of its manifest inferiority, but because they are
averse to the effort to make it better. It will be
noticed that it is not said that all churches should
use the same books or the same hymns and tunes
or the same general methods, for all churches are
not alike. But the use by any church of that which
it knows to be unworthy of itself and of God is so
shameful that it is almost blasphemous. Counter-
feit coin on the contribution-plate, vacant lip-service
in the prayers, and doggerel and trash in the
hymnody are pretty much alike as tributes of wor-
ship".i

Fortified, then, with these convictions, the minister,
the superintendent, and the choirmaster must next
set about implanting them firmly in the minds and
hearts of the people. There are niany ways in which
this can be accomplished. The minister should, of
course, begin the fight by some straight, earnest,
fearless remarks from the pulpit. He will find many
in the congregation to disagree with and criticise

* Pratt, op. ciL, pp. 64-65.

Music m the Church cmd Svmday School 103

him, but let him hold his ground unflinchingly,
staunch and steadfast in the knowledge that he is
right. The superintendent, following the example
of his chief, must explain to the Sunday school
the violation of the proprieties involved in the sing-
ing of waltzes and onesteps in the house of God,
and must make it clear even to the youngest that a
commercialized hymnody has no place in true wor-
ship. The organist or choirmaster can be of in-
estimable value to both pastor and superintendent,
for, as has been shown above, there is no better way
of displaying the sorriness of a sorry "hymn" than
by contrasting it, at the piano or organ, with a fine
hymn. Only one copy of the cheap book needs to
be saved from the bonfire for this purpose. Some
such process of precept and example must be re-
peated over and over, for the development of good
taste is a slow and tedious undertaking.

A song service on Sunday evening every month or?
so is an excellent means of presenting the best in [
hymnody to a congregation just stepping out of
jazzdom. I do not mean a service in which the or-
ganist and the choir do most of the work, but one
devoted almost exclusively to the singing of hymns,
— to the widening of the congregational repertoire.
Nearly all the great hymns have some incidents as-
sociated with their composition and use.^ Let the

^ Cf. footnote 5, p. 65.

104 Practical Hymnology

minister relate these incidents, call attention to the
thought around which the h^^mn is written and to its
musical and lyric beauty, urge the people to fix
their attention strongly on words and music, as they
sing. The superintendent may use the same means
in the Sunday school. He and the pastor will soon
discover a genuine interest in hymns spreading
through the congregation, — an interest that should
be fostered and nourished by studies in hymnology
at the mid-week prayer meeting or in the young
people's societies.

Now, this program demands the outlay of a little
money for the purchase of some six or eight books,^
the giving of considerable time and labor to study,
and the undiscouraged display of infinite patience
in dealing with a jazz-loving congregation and Sun-
day school. But to drive out of God's house the
unworthy and unholy songs that defile His worship,
and to drive out of the hearts of the people the ta/ste
for them, is surely worth far more than even the most
zealous of us ever will or can expend.

Nothing can take the place of congregational
singing in the worship of God. And yet, in far too
many churches, it is rather a dismal and uninspiring
business. In the Preface and again in the second

' Consult the bibliography given on pages 201-213 of Pro-
fessor Pratt's book (see footnote 20, p. 36).

Music m the Church and Sunday School 105

chapter ^ of this little book, some suggestions were
made as to the reasons for this most unfortunate
condition. Where it exists, its immediate alteration
is, barring the saving of souls, the most vital task
that can possibly confront the minister and his
assistants in the work of the Kingdom. For there
can be no doubt that the deep spiritual enthusiasm
aroused by hearty congregational singing tends to
flow into all the various lines of church activity;
and, conversely, that a lack of interest and of whole-
souled participation in song exercises a dampening
and repressing effect, not only upon the entire service
but upon all good works.

Here, again, the minister must bestir himself to
vigorous leadership, and must not allow discourage-
ment on account of a possible absence of immediate
results to drag him back to his former apathy.
Stimulating, inspiring and helpful words from the
pulpit, if often enough repeated, will gradually have
their effect upon even the most indifferent congrega-
tion. But the burden falls equally upon the organist.
A slipshod, inaccurate, blundering performer can
never lead the people to new heights in song. And
it may as well be said here that the chief function
of an organist is to do just that thing. It makes no
difference how gifted he may be at improvisation,

* P. 77.

106 Practical HyTrmology

how fine an ear he may have for combinations of
stops, how brilliantly he may execute preludes and
postludes. If he is unable to play hymns correctly,
vigorously, and inspiringly, he is not a church or-
ganist, and the sooner he resigns, the better. Per-
haps one-tenth of the miserable dragging one hears
in so many churches is due to the inherent laziness
of human nature; a piddling, careless organist is
responsible for the other nine-tenths. Incidentally,
it is astounding how many young ladies who have
graduated in music at reputable colleges and con-
servatories are terror-stricken and helpless before a
simple hymn.

Some churches have a leader who stands out in a
prominent place and keeps the people from going
to sleep over their singing either by the sheer power
of his voice or by sundry gyrations and gesticula-
tions after the fashion of certain orchestra directors.
Such a performer is wholly superfluous in churches
which have pipe organs and genuine organists. For
assemblies, Sunday schools, and the like, he is almost
a necessity, though all too often he succeeds in mak-
ing himself a colossal nuisance by his antediluvian
jokes and vulgar antics.

Good congregational singing is greatly stimulated
by wide-awake, energetic work in the choir gallery.
The chief function of the choir, as of the organist, is
to lead the people in the hymns. In some of our

Music m the Church and Swnday School 107

city churches the choir occupies, queerly enough, a
loft at the end of the church opposite the pulpit,
and so sings at the backs of the people in the pews,
instead of into their faces. But that situation is
comparatively unusual, for the large majority of
choirs are conspicuously seated near the minister,
where they can actually lead in the service of song.

Sunday school orchestras are much favored in
some cities, and they may possibly be valuable; but
my observation is that where orchestras are found,
there trashy music is found, also. Cheap books are
"orchestrated" (as a further inducement, of course,
to their purchase) , and when five or six young people
get their violins, cornets and trombones going full
tilt on some wretched piece of "sacred" jazz, it is
quite easy to close your eyes and imagine yourself
in a dance hall. A good pianist and a leader with a
deep sense of the proprieties of a religious service
are far better.

Hearty congregational singing is always stimu-
lated by a judicious selection of hymns. Most people
come to church reverently and worshipfully, and so
are better prepared to sing vigorously a song of
praise at the opening of the service, such as "Ye
servants of God, your Master proclaim", than some
mournful dirge like "I'm but a stranger here".
Similarly, the selections following the scripture and
the sermon should be germane and pertinent.

108 Practical Hymnology

So, bj wise selection and inspiring leadership, in
which minister, superintendent, organist, and choir
must all share, the service of song may be made, in
every church and Sunday school in the land, a
worthy offering of sweet savor unto the Lord.

Before leaving the subject of congregational sing-
ing, one more word must be added by way of em-
phasis. If the minister hesitates or falters, the
whole program might as well take the place of the
trash books on the bonfire. It is quite true, of course,
that many seminaries offer practically no instruction
in hymnology (a most unfortunate and inexplicable
state of affairs), and that in many Bible schools and
institutes Mr. Jazz and Mr. Gotrox have charge of
the department of "Gospel Song". In spite of this,
however, no minister has any excuse to plead igno-
rance, for a little study will open up to him one of
the most fascinating fields in the whole realm of re-
ligious thought and achievement. If he pleads indif-
ference, he needs to have his eyes opened to the par-
amount importance of vigorous singing, and to his
duty of energetic leadership in it ; and if he will not
submit to the process of a charging of his hymnodic
batteries, let him, for the good of the church and the
glory of God, move on and give place to some more
enlightened and energetic man who is not indifferent
to the transcendent significance of genuine worship.

Every one of the great denominations has one or

Music in the Church and Sunday School 109

more hj-mnals of the highest quality. The names
and publishers of these books can be easily ascer-
tained by inquiry, and their merits tested by careful
examination. It is exceedingly important that there
should be an ample supply of books, with words and
music, so that ever^'body who desires to take part in
the service of song may do so without the incon-
venience of being compelled either to look over
shoulders and around hats or to sing from memory.
We must now return to the choir and the organist
and consider the question of "special music". One or
two general observations may first be made. Many
choirs have an inexcusably bad habit of chatting in
the choir galler}' after thej^ have taken their places
for the service. This practice has an exceedingly in-
jurious effect upon the people in the pews, who, per-
ceiving that their leaders are totally oblivious of the
proprieties of the sanctuary, follow with great com-
placency the example so prominently set. The result
is that when the minister steps into the pulpit, he
faces a sort of general social party, with numer-
ous groups twittering away in a most affable and
pleasant manner, instead of a reverent assemblage of
worshipers, with their hearts open to the inspiration
of the hour. Incidentally, the organist's prelude,
which should be a sort of devotional introduction
to the whole service, might just as well be rendered
in the heart of Africa, for most of the people are

110 Practical Hymnology

amiably gossiping, and those who really want to hear
the music must be satisfied to listen instead to cer-
tain harrowing details about somebody's new dress
or to an animated discussion of crops or business
prospects.

Part of the blame for the existence of such a sacri-
legious atmosphere is certainly to be placed on the
minister. Now, I am not a member of a ritualistic
church, but my observation has been that in such
churches there is invariably a genuine reverence for
the place and the service. The minister who without
an ordered liturgy makes his own program of wor-
ship, and carries it out according to his own ideas,
must see to it as best he can that a tradition of
respect for the sanctuary is developed in the hearts
of his people, too. The slipshod informality and gen-
eral uncertainty (with its consequent embarrass-
ment) so frequently to be seen in non-liturgical serv-
ices is inexcusable, for it stimulates irreverence and
a wandering of the attention entirely incompatible
with that worshipful concentration of soul so essen-
tial to the success of any religious assemblage. I
am not pleading for the universal adoption of litur-
gies, but for a carefully arranged program, carried
out with dignity and a decent regard for the proprie-
ties of the Lord's house.

At the risk of being accused of desertion of non-
ritualistic precedent, I desire to register here my

Music m the Church and Swnday School 111

conviction that the choir, or at least the women mem-
bers of it, should wear some sort of robe. The weekly
display of variegated millinery and more or less
brilliant gowns and suits in the choir loft is too much
like a fashion show to escape general observation and
comment from the feminine (and some of the mascu-
line) portion of the audience. When the hymns
are sung, some awe-inspiring hat or dazzling dress
is sure to distract attention from the act of worship
then in progress ; whereas, if the men and women in
the choir wore black robes (the women, caps, also),
the fashion show would give place to a body of
Christians unostentatiously striving to promote the
worship of God.

Some denominational leaders have made up their
minds that anthems, solos, etc., are wholly out of
place in church. These men lose no opportunity of
casting slurs at "special music which is over the
heads of the people," and of hinting quite strongly
that the time occupied in its rendition is worse than
wasted. This sort of criticism is justified only when
the organist and his singers abandon the devotional
for the concert style of anthems and other musical
numbers ; and that happens very infrequently in well-
regulated choirs. There is no danger that music
will ever be over-emphasized in the great majority of
our churches. On the contrary, in many of them
religion seeks very little aid and inspiration from

112 Practical Hymnology

that fine art which is really the child of the Church ^
and which has contributed so bounteously and so
beautifully to the bringing in of the Kingdom dur-
ing the past centuries.

Every remark that has been made in this book
concerning good and bad hymns applies equally
to good and bad anthems. For the anthem is
also an act of worship, or it has no right to be
performed in church. There are a large number
of writers and publishers of cheap anthems, and
they are just as happy and busy as their blood-
brothers of the song book industry. The cheap an-
them is usually to be distinguished by the difficult
and dangerous feats it requires of all the singers,
but more particularly of the bassos. A choir that
sings trash of this sort ought always to have an
ambulance ready to cart bassos to the hospital when
they collapse after the awful Sunday morning strain
of ripping and tearing up and down the scale. Not
only the cheap anthem is to be shunned, but also
the florid, concertistic anthem, which, however skill-
fully composed, is out of place in the devotional
atmosphere of the sanctuary. It hardly needs to
be added that a sensible choirmaster will gauge
accurately the musical ability of his singers and
will never, under any circumstances, have them sing

^ Read Pratt's excellent chapter on "Religion and the Art of
Music," op. cit., pp. 9^4.

Mtisic m the Church and Sunday School 113

compositions which are beyond the range of their
powers. It is far, far better to render some beau-
tiful and appropriate hymn as the offertory, than
to murder Sullivan's magnificent "Sing, O Heavens,"
or the incomparable "Hallelujah Chorus."

There are ample treasures of good anthems for
choirs of every grade of ability.^ And no fair-
minded person can dispute the effectiveness, as an
act of worship, of a devotional anthem, selected
for its bearing on the scripture and the sermon
of the hour, and sung by the choir with reverence
and genuine spiritual insight.

That leads me to say that the members of vol-
unteer choirs should certainly be Christian men and
women, whom the congregation can follow in wor-
ship without any reservation whatever. In the case
of paid musicians, this rule, unfortunately, can not
always be observed.

The chorus choir seems to me much better, from

every point of view, than the quartet. It is, of

course, vastly more efficient in the leadership of

congregational singing, which is, as has already been

said, the principal business of choirs. And in the

rendering of anthems, a full body of tone is actually

more effective than the artistic shading in which

the quartet excels. Besides, membership in the choir

'Consult Randall's "Choirmaster's Guide to Hjinns and
Anthems," Novello, London, 1911; or Foster's "Anthems and
Anthem Composers," Novello, London, 1901.

114 Practical Hymnology

means real Christian service; and men and women
of musical ability should be given this opportunity
of using their talents for the glory of God.

Organ and vocal solos should be selected with
care, upon the same principle that governs the
choice of anthems. In short, every piece of music
played or sung in the house of the Lord should be
regarded as an act of worship, and should be chosen
and rendered with absolutely no other object than
of making a real contribution to the inspiration and
the spiritual power of the service.

The volunteer choir has, sad to say, become rather
famous for petty squabbles, started over nothing,
and sometimes fanned into great, roaring feuds
that have even been known to split churches. No
man or woman ought ever to become a member of
a choir who does not possess enough of the spirit
of toleration and of real Christian love to make such
disastrous occurrences impossible.

Choir work, if well done, demands genuine con-
secration, and not a little time, energy and self-
sacrifice. In consideration of that fact, there should
be, in the congregation, a spirit of hearty coopera-
tion with the singers, of gratitude for their services,
of interest in their work; with never a word of
bitterness or ugly sarcasm, no matter how inexpertly
they may render the anthem. They are very prob-
ably doing the best they can, — and, what is more

Music m the Church and Sunday School 115

important, — if they are sincere Christians, they are
doing it for the glory of God.

There could be no more appropriate way to close
this little book than to repeat the words whidi
stand on the title-page, for they express concisely
and completely the point of view these chapters
have tried to present: "Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts
to the Lord.''

APPENDIX

THREE HUNDRED GOOD HYMNS ^

A charge to keep I have

A parting hymn we sing

A voice is heard on earth

Abide with me

Alas ! and did my Savior bleed

All for Jesus — All for Jesus

All glory, laud and honor

All hail the power of Jesus' name

All my heart this night rejoices

All praise to Thee, my God, this night

Alleluia ! Song of gladness

Am I a soldier of the cross

Ancient of days. Who sittest

Angels from the realms of glory

Angel voices ever singing

^ This list is not given as a canon of sacred song, but simply
to serve as a practical guide in the actual selection of hymns.
It is very small, of necessity, but the hymns in it may be sung
at any religious meeting, by old people or young people, and
not only be sung, but understood and appreciated. It includes
a few selections for a variety of topics and times, and also
some of the best "Gospel Hymns." Practically every hymn
in this list wiU be found in any standard hymnal.

117

118 Practical Hyrrmology

Another year is dawning

Approach, my soul, the mercy-seat

Arm of the Lord, awake

Arm these Thy soldiers, mighty Lord

Around the throne of God in heaven

Around Thy grave. Lord Jesus

Art thou weary, art thou languid

As with gladness men of old

Asleep in Jesus

At even, ere the sun was set

Awake my soul, in joyful lays (Park Street)

Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve

Away in a manger

Before Jehovah's awful throne

Begin, my tongue, some heavenly theme (Manoah)

Behold a Stranger at the door

Beneath the cross of Jesus

Blessed are the sons of God

Blest be the tie that binds

Bread of the world, in mercy broken

Break Thou the bread of life

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning

Brightly gleams our banner

Christ is made the sure foundation
Christ is risen, Christ is risen
Christ the Lord is risen to-day

Apperidix 119

Come, Holy Spirit, Dove divine

Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove

Come, let us join our cheerful songs

Come, let us join with faithful souls

Come, my soul, thou must be waking

Come, Thou Almighty King

Come unto me; it is the Savior's voice

Come unto Me, ye weary

Come, we that love the Lord (St. Thomas)

Come, ye disconsolate

Come, ye faithful, raise the strain

Come, ye thankful people, come

Consider the lilies, how stately they grow

Courage, brother! do not stumble

Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow

Crown Him with many crowns

Day is dying in the West

Dear Lord and Father of mankind

Depth of mercy, can there be

Encamped along the hills of light
Eternal Light! eternal Light!

Fairest Lord Jesus

Faith of our fathers

Father, again in Jesus' name we meet

Father, whate'er of earthly bliss

120 Practical Hymnology

Fight the good fight with all thy might

Fling out the banner

For all thy saints who from their labors rest

For the beauty of the earth

From all Thy saints in warfare

From every stormy wind that blows

From Greenland's icy mountains

Glorious things of thee are spoken

Glory and praise and honor

Go, labor on, spend and be spent

Go to dark Gethsemane

God be with you, till we meet again

God, in the gospel of His Son

God is love, by Him upholden

God is love ; His mercy brightens

God is the refuge of His saints

God moves in a mysterious way (Dundee)

God of our fathers. Whose almighty hand

God's trumpet wakes the slumbering world

God, that madest earth and heaven

Golden harps are sounding

Guide me, 0 Thou great Jehovah

Hail to the brightness of Zion's glad morning

Hark! Hark! my soul

Hark ! my soul, it is the Lord

Hark ! ten thousand harps and voices

Appendix 121

Hark! the herald angels sing
Hark! the sound of holy voices
Hark ! what mean these holy voices
He leadeth me : O blessed thought
He that goeth forth with weeping
High in the heavens, eternal God
Holy Ghost, with light divine
Holy, Holy, Holy
Holy night, peaceful night
Hosanna! loud hosanna!
How firm a foundation
How gentle God's commands
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds

I am thine, O Lord

I gave my life for thee

I hear the Savior say

I hear Thy welcome voice

I know my heavenly Father knows

I know that my Redeemer lives

I lay my sins on Jesus

I love Thy Kingdom, Lord (St. Thomas)

I love to tell the story

I need Thee every hour

I think when I read that sweet story

If through unruffled seas

Immortal Love, forever full

In the cross of Christ I glory

1£2 Practical Hyrrmology

In the hour of trial

In the secret of His presence

It came upon the midnight clear

I've found a friend ; O such a friend

Jesus, and shall it ever be

Jesus calls us; o'er the tumult

Jesus, I my cross have taken (Autumn)

Jesus, keep me near the cross

Jesus, lover of my soul

Jesus, Savior, pilot me

Jesus shaU reign where'er the sun

Jesus, the very thought of Thee

Jerusalem, the golden (Ewing) .

Joy to the world, the Lord is come

Just as I am, without one plea

Lead, kindly Light

Lead us, 0 Father, in the paths of peace

Lo ! He comes, with clouds descending

Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious (Coronae)

Lord, dismiss us with Thy blessing

Lord, for tomorrow and its needs

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole

Lord of our life, and God of our salvation

Lord, speak to me, that I may speak

Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise Thee

Love divine, all loves excelling

Low in the grave He lay

Appendix 1^3

Majestic sweetness sits enthroned

Mighty God, while angels bless Thee

Mine eyes have seen the glory

More love to Thee, O Christ

Must Jesus bear the cross alone

My country, 'tis of thee

My days are gliding swiftly by

My faith looks up to Thee

My God, and Father, while I stray

My God, I thank Thee, Who hast made

My hope is built on nothing less

My Jesus, as Thou wilt

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine

My soul, be on thy guard

Nearer, my God, to Thee

New every morning is the love

No shadows yonder

Not half has ever been told

Not worthy. Lord, to gather up the crumbs

Now God be with us, for the night is closing

Now the day is over

O beautiful for spacious skies

O come, all ye faithful

O could I speak the matchless worth

O day of rest and gladness

O for a closer walk with God

124 Practical Hymnology

O for a heart to praise my God

O God, beneath Thy guiding hand

O God, our help in ages past

O God, the Rock of Ages

O happy band of pilgrims

0 happy day, that fixed my choice

0 holy Father, strong to save

O holy Savior ! Friend unseen

O Jesus, I have promised

O Jesus, Thou art standing

O Jesus, when I think of Thee

O Lamb of God! still keep me

0 little town of Bethlehem

0 Love that wilt not let me go (St. Margaret)

0 Master, let me walk with Thee

O Mother dear, Jerusalem

O Paradise! O Paradise!

O perfect Love, all human thought transcending

O safe to the Rock that is higher than I

0 say, can you see

O Word of God incarnate

O worship the King, all glorious above

O Zion, haste

On our way rejoicing

On the mountain top appearing (Zion)

Once in royal David^s city

One sweetly solemn thought

Onward, Christian soldiers

Appendix 125

Our blest Redeemer, ere He breathed
Our Lord is risen from the dead
Out of my bondage, sorrow and night

Pass me not, O gentle Savior

Peace, perfect peace

Pleasant are Thy courts above

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven

Praise the Lord, ye heavens adore Him

Praise ye the Father, for His loving-kindness

Purer yet and purer

Rejoice, all ye believers

Rejoice, ye pure in heart

Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings

Rock of Ages

Round the Lord in glory seated

Safe in the arms of Jesus

Safely through another week

Saints of God, the da^vn is brightening

Savior, again to Thy dear name we raise

Savior, breathe an evening blessing

Savior, like a shepherd lead us

Savior, Thy dying love

Savior, when in dust to Thee

Shall we gather at the river

126 Practical Hymnology

Sleep on, beloved

Sleep thy last sleep

So let our lips and lives express

Softly now the light of day

Soldiers of Christ, arise

Songs of praise the angels sang

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart

Stand up, stand up for Jesus

Still, still with Thee

Sun of my soul. Thou Savior dear

Sweet hour of prayer

Sweet is the work, my God, my King

Take my life and let it be

Tell me the old, old story

Ten thousand times ten thousand

The Church's one foundation

The corn is ripe for reaping

The day is gently sinking to a close

The day is past and over

The day of resurrection

The first Noel

The Homeland! O the Homeland!

The King of Love my Shepherd is

The Lord be with us as we bend

The Lord is my Shepherd

The morning light is breaking

The ninety and nine

Appendix 127

The radiant mom hath passed away

The roseate hues of early dawn

The sands of time are sinking

The shadows of the evening hour

The Son of God goes forth to war

The spacious firmament on high

The strife is o'er, the battle done

The voice that breathed o'er Eden

There is a fountain filled with blood (Cowper)

There is a green hill far away

There is an hour of peaceful rest

There is no name so sweet on earth

There's a friend for little children

There's a Stranger at the door

There's a wideness in God's mercy

This rite our blest Redeemer gave

Thou art my Shepherd

Thou didst leave Thy throne

Thou, Whose almighty word

To Thee, my God and Savior

Upward where the stars are burning

Watchman, tell us of the night
We are living, we are dwelling
We have heard the joyful sound
We march, we march to victory
We may not climb the heavenly steeps

128 Practical Hyrrmology

We three Kings of Orient are

We would see Jesus

Weary of earth and laden with my sin

Welcome, delightful mom

Welcome, happy morning! age to age shall say

What a Friend we have in Jesus

When all Thy mercies, 0 my God

When He cometh, when He cometh

When, His salvation bringing

When I survey the wondrous cross

When morning gilds the skies

When peace like a river

When thy heart, with joy o'erflowing

Where cross the crowded ways of life

While shepherds watched their flocks by night

While with ceaseless course the sun

Who is on the Lord's side

With gladsome hearts we come

With happy voices singing

Work, for the night is coming

Ye Christian heralds, go proclaim

Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim

INDEX

Adams, John, 32-33
Anthems, etc., 109, 111-113

Baptists, 16-20, 27-31, 42-43,

46-47, 52
Barlow, Joel, 33-34
Barton, William, 15-16, 18
"Bay Psalm Book," 29
Beddome, Benjamin, 35
Beecher, Henry Ward, 47
Benson, Louis F., 13, 19, 24,

28-32, 34-36, 41, 48-49
Bliss, P. P., 48
Bohemian Brethren, the, 13
Breviary, the, 50
Buck, W. C, 43
Burder, George, 27
Byron, Lord, 45

Calvin, John, 13

Camp Meeting Hymn, the, 40,

48
Catholics, 50, 53
Cheap "hymns" :

reasons for wide use of, 57-

63
mercenary motives of au-
thors and publishers of,
64-66
method of construction of,

67-70
types of, 70-73
publication of, 73-75
use of, 75-76

arguments advanced for use
of, 76-86

Cheap "hymns," sacrilegious

character of, 89-90
methods of distinguishing

good hymns from, 90-93
difficulty of fighting, 98-101
Choir, the, 106, 109, 111-115
Church of England, the, 42,

46, 49-51
Coleridge, S. T., 45
Congregational singing, 104^

109
Congregationalists, 43-44, 47,

53
Courthope, W. J., 39
Coverdale, Myles, 14
Cowper, William, 42
Curtis, John, 46

Davidson, Robert, 40
Deacon, Samuel, 28
Doane, W. H., 48
Duffield, S. W., 65
Dutch Reformed, 43
Dyer, Sidney. 43

Episcopalians, 43, 51
Evangelical Hymn, the, 50

Fawcett, John, 35
Fox, George, 19
Franklin, Benjamin, 29
Fuller, Richard, 43

Gospel HjTun, the, 41, 48-49
"Gospel HjTuns, 1 to 6," 48-49
Grantham, Thomas, 17
Greek Hymns, 50-51

129

130

Index

Hastings, Thomas, 44

Heber, Reginald, 45-46, 50

Homiletical hymnody, 28, 46

Hunter, John, 53

Hus, John, 13

Hymn singing, 13-14, 16, 32-

33, 36, 43
Hymnals, 108-109

Jeter, J. B., 43

Keach, Benjamin, 19-20
Keble, John, 49-50

Latin hymns, 50-52
Leader, the, 106
Liturgical Hymn, the, 50
Luther, Martin, 13

Marlow, Isaac, 20
Matheson, George, 54-55
Mason, Lowell, 44-45
Methodists, 27, 37, 39-41
Mills, Kerry, 71
Minister, the, 100-105, 108,

110
Moody, Dwight L., 41, 48-49
Moore, Thomas, 45
Murray, Francis H., 51

Neale, John Mason, 51
Negro "spirituals," 40, 68
Newton, John, 42
Nonconformists, 16, 20, 23, 51

"Old Version," 17
"Olney Hymns," 42
Orchestra, the, 107
Organist (or choirmaster),

the, 100-106, 109-114
Oxford Revival, the, 49-52

Palmer, Ray, 44
Parkinson, W., 31
Patrick, John, 15
Phillips, Philip, 48
"Pilgrim Hymnal," 53
"PljTnouth Collection," 47
Pratt, Waldo S., 36, 78, 80, 92,
101-102, 104, 112

Presbyterians, 32-34, 40, 43-

44, 47
"Promiscuous singing," 17, 29
Psalms, the, 14-15, 18, 22-26
Psalm singing, 14, 20, 26, 32-

33
Psalmody Controversy, the, 33

Quakers, 19, 53

Reformation, the, 13
Rippon, John, 28
Robinson, Charles S., 47
Romantic movement, the, 45-

46
"Rous' Version," 33

Sankey, Ira D., 41, 48-49
Scott, Sir Walter, 45
SheUey, P. B., 45
Smith, Augustine, 82-84
Smith, S. F., 43-44
Smyth, John, 16
Spurgeon, Charles, 29, 47
Steele, Miss Anne, 35
Stennett, Samuel, 35
Sternhold and Hopkins, 17
Sunday school music, 87-88,

107
Superintendent, the, 100-104
Symmes, Thomas, 29

Tye, Christopher, 15
Tourjee, Eben, 48
IVentieth century hymnody,
52-55

University of Wisconsin in
campaign against cheap
songs, 95-96

Watts, Isaac, 15-16, 20-36,

39, 42, 51
Wesley, the brothers, 27, 29,

36-39, 41, 51
Whitefield, George, 29, 41-43
Winchell, James M., 31-32
Wordsworth, William, 45

Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries |

1 1012 01197 0425

DATE DUE

"s^riiinl^l^PIII

k^-'

GAYLORD

PRINTED IN U.S. A